Remember Everyday Food? Those tidy little digest-size magazines from Martha Stewart packed with approachable recipes and beautiful photography? The magazine was the original source of this recipe for Chocolate Cheesecake Squares—creamy, chocolaty dessert bars with just the right balance of richness and simplicity.
This recipe has stood the test of time. It’s a bit lighter than your average cheesecake bar thanks to a combo of sour cream and cream cheese (you can use reduced-fat if you want), but still delivers full-on chocolate flavor thanks to natural cocoa powder and a generous sprinkle of chocolate chips.
Oreo Crust
And let’s not forget the crust: crushed Oreos and melted butter. The original recipe called for Nabisco Famous Wafers, but the Oreo crust is just as good or better. I've taken some liberties with it through the years including doubling it. For less crust, just use fewer Oreos and reduce the butter.
Why You'll Love These Chocolate Cheesecake Squares
- Simple ingredients: You probably have most of them on hand.
- Make-ahead friendly: They need to chill anyway, so they’re perfect for preparing the night before.
- Crowd-pleasing: Creamy, chocolatey, and easy to cut into neat little squares for serving at parties, bake sales, or afternoon pick-me-ups.
Tips for Success
Chill time matters: An hour in the fridge (or more!) gives the bars that creamy, sliceable texture.
Use a metal pan: It helps the bars bake evenly. Lining it with non-stick foil makes cleanup a breeze and ensures easy removal.
Don’t overbake: The center should still look slightly soft when you take it out. It will firm up as it cools.
Recipe
Chocolate Cheesecake Squares
Ingredients
- 24 ct Oreos
- 4 tablespoons melted salted butter
- 8 ounces reduced fat or regular cream cheese
- 1 cup reduced fat or regular sour cream
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder natural, unsweetened
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 large egg plus 1 egg white
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ⅓ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line the inside of an 8 inch square metal pan with non-stick foil.
- Process cookies into crumbs (or pound them, use whatever method you like) and mix with butter. Press into the bottom of the pan.
- Beat the softened cream cheese, sour cream and sugar until creamy. Add cocoa, cornstarch, egg, egg white and vanilla; beat just until smooth. Pour over cookie crust and sprinkle top with chocolate chips.
- Bake on center rack for 35-40 minutes. Cool completely in pan then refrigerate for at least one hour. Invert onto a tray; peel off paper and reinvert crust side down. Cut into 9 squares.
NancyB says
Anna,
I made these for Valentine's Day and they were a big hit! Thanks so much.
Nancy
Katrina says
Made these for Easter and they are yummy! My husband loves them. I used mini chocolate chips on top, just to cover more surface area. (1/4 cup) These turned out great! Thanks, Anna.
Debbi says
Yum. I made these this morning to have for dessert tonight but I just had to sample. It's delicious! We're just getting over being sick here too so I thought I'd celebrate with cheesecake.
Noble Pig says
Chocolate cheesecake anything is by far one of my greatest weaknesses. I wish I lived next door to you and I could sample each and every creation.
Anna says
TG,I thought that cocoa streusel recipe was from Penzey's spices, but I found it in another earlier (can't remember) cookbook as well. It's definitely a good one -- easy and delicious. Glad you didn't get terribly ill from the old condensed milk ;).
About the lemon cookies, the ones we had this year turned out to be ice shortbread and NOT sandwiches. I think this year's lemon cookies were new.
Marie, I guess it's just a chocolate cheesecake kind of day.
Thanks for all the well wishes.
Marie says
I was trying to get this recipe off the Everyday website yesterday and for some reason it was saying it was temporarily unavailable. I'm so psyched to see it today. Weird that we both went for the same recipe at the same time.
Glad you're feeling better.
TG says
welcome back, you rule, etc. this thing looks so great. i just finally got around to making your choco-cheesecake streusel squares, so easy, brought them into work, BIG hit. weird: as you may recall, they use sweetened condensed milk which, when i opened the can, was tan-nish. on the label, it sez it's still ok to use even if it's started to turn tan. god forbid i waste anything so i used it. it ended up being more like chocolate-CARAMEL-cheesecake squares. it was interesting. (i confess that i had two cans and did throw one away because the milk had turned into a solid firm dark-tan caramel block.)
while i have you here, haha, have you had the girl scout lemon sandwich cookies? i know you posted an item that Fuzz was selling cookies; i hadn't had the lemon ones before this year. i do love a lemon cookie.
Aria says
Glad to see you back in the kitchen, Anna. This looks delicious!
Anna says
Well, the rule of thumb for glass pans is to knock of 25 degrees, so I guess I'd bake it at 325 for 35 minutes. It should appear set all around the sides and only slightly wiggly (not very) in the center.
Debbi says
How would you change the temp and/time with an 8 in. GLASS pan? It looks delicious!