Brown Butter Sugar Cookie Cheesecake Bars
Brown butter sugar cookie bars with a creamy vanilla cheesecake center and a crumbled cookie topping.
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Dough
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles optional
Cheesecake Filling
- 12 ounces full-fat cream cheese softened
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
- Brown 6 tablespoons of the butter until the milk solids turn golden and smell nutty. Pour into a bowl, add the remaining 4 tablespoons butter, stir until melted, and cool for about 10 minutes.
- Whisk the sugar, egg, and vanilla into the butter. Fold in the flour, baking powder, and salt until a soft dough forms. Stir in sprinkles if using.
- Press about two-thirds of the dough into the bottom of the pan. Chill the remaining dough while making the filling.
- Beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the sour cream, egg, vanilla, and cornstarch on low speed just until combined. Spread over the cookie base.
- Crumble the reserved cookie dough over the cheesecake layer.
- Bake for 34 to 40 minutes, until the cookie topping is lightly golden and the cheesecake center has only a slight wobble.
- Cool completely, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours before slicing.
Notes
For clean slices, chill the bars fully and wipe the knife between cuts.
