Copycat Philadelphia Strawberry Cheesecake Snack Bars
Copycat Philadelphia strawberry cheesecake snack bars are the homemade version of the popular discontinued treat. A graham cracker crust, creamy cheesecake and strawberry topping making these cheesecake bars a sweet you’ll love.
One of our favorite treats in this house is cheesecake.
And the hubs and I both used to adore the Philadelphia Strawberry Cheesecake snack bars.
They were so good!
And now every so often, I find myself fantasizing about the creamy treats so I took it upon myself to make this copycat.
What are Philadelphia cheesecake snack bars?
These bars were little bites of heaven, and just thinking about them gives me all the early 2000’s nostalgia.
They had a buttery graham cookie crust, creamy rich cheesecake, and came in all sorts of different flavors.
Unfortunately, they were discontinued quite awhile ago- and only available from a few short years from 1999-2003. However, the snack bars quickly became a cult classic, and only discontinued due to difficulties in the manufacturing process.
Maybe one day they’ll return to store shelves, but thanks to this delicious copycat- we won’t have to wait and find out to enjoy the classic cheesecake treat.
Ingredients
To make this you’ll need a few sets of ingredients: a set for the crust, for the cheesecake itself, and then for the strawberry topping.
For the crust you’ll need:
- Graham cracker crumbs– You can either food process graham crackers or buy a box of graham cracker crumbs.
- Butter– Melted
For the cheesecake itself you’ll need:
- Cream cheese– Room temperature, full fat cream cheese.
- Sugar– Granulated
- Sour cream– Full fat sour cream at room temperature
- Eggs– Room temperature
- Heavy cream– Don’t substitute it for a lower fat dairy product
- Vanilla extract– Use the real kind instead of imitation if possible.
For the strawberry topping you’ll need:
- Strawberries– Sliced
- Sugar– Granulated
- Water
- Corn syrup– Light corn syrup
- Corn starch– To thicken the topping
- White chocolate– Use white chocolate melting wafers. This is optional for the drizzle.
How to Make
To make these strawberry cheesecake bars, let’s break it down into different parts to make it easier:
- the crust
- making the cheesecake
- the topping
- assembling
To make the Crust
Mix the graham cracker crumbs and the melted butter together in a large bowl until mixture is like wet sand.
Once it reaches the right texture, pack it into bottom and slightly up the sides of an 8×8 dish lined with parchment paper.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes while you make the filling.
Making The Cheesecake
Cream together the cream cheese, sugar, and sour cream in a large bowl with an electric or stand mixture until it is light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs, heavy cream, and vanilla until mixture is smooth
Then, pour cheesecake into the crust and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until cheesecake is a bit puffed and no longer jiggly in the center.
At this point, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes before transferring to fridge to chill at least 4 hours.
Making The Topping
After the cheesecake has cooled, make the strawberry topping.
To do it, stir together the strawberries, sugar, water, corn syrup and cornstarch in a medium saucepan.
Heat the mixture over medium heat until it starts to simmer, stirring frequently.
Once it starts to simmer, turn the heat down to low and let it keep simmering for 10-15 minutes or until it thickens and turns deep red.
Let it cool, transfer to an airtight container and chill in fridge until ready to use
Assembling the cheesecake bars
When you are ready to put together the bars themselves, carefully remove the cheesecake from the dish using the parchment paper overhang.
Slice it into 8 bars.
Add a spoonful of strawberry topping to each bar, being sure to get both berries and sauce on each.
Drizzle or pipe the melted white chocolate over the top of the bars.
Enjoy!
Storing
Store these bars in an airtight container in the fridge with parchment paper between them if you need to layer the bars in a container.
What Were The Original Flavors?
Other than the strawberry version we’ve replicated here, Philadelphia release three other flavors of the cheesecake snack bar:
- Classic (no topping, just the cheesecake filling on graham cracker crust)
- Chocolate Chip (same as the classic, but sprinkled with chocolate chips on top)
- White Chocolate & Raspberry
You can easily adapt this recipe for one of the other versions if they were the one you originally fell in love with- or if you just don’t care for strawberries.
Tips and Tricks
- Don’t want a graham cracker crust? Use shortbread cookie crumbs or even Oreo crumbs instead.
- Make sure the eggs, cream cheese, and sour cream are all at room temperature so they combine more easily when you make the cheesecake.
- Don’t skip the cooling time! This is essential to letting your filling set up & stabilize so that the bars stay together when cut and when served.
- For perfectly cut bars, clean your knife after each cut and dip it into hot water (to keep it warm) wiping off any excess water in between each cut as well. We offer this same advice when slicing any cheesecake style dessert.
- Don’t love strawberries? Substitute raspberries or blueberries in the sauce instead.
Other Yummy Dessert Bars
The copycat Philadelphia strawberry cheesecake snack bars are a favorite treat. Make them and enjoy!
Looking for other yummy dessert bars? Try these:
- Slow Cooker Rice Krispie Treats
- Strawberry Crunch Bars
- Homemade Star Crunch Recipe
- Oreo Cheesecake Brownies
- Toll House Cookie Pie Bars
If you’ve tried this COPYCAT PHILADELPHIA STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE SNACK BARS, or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!
Strawberry Cheesecake Snack Bars (Philadelphia Copy Cat)
Ingredients
For The Crust
- 2 cups graham crumbs
- ¼ cup melted butter
For The Cheesecake
- 16 oz cream cheese room temperature
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons sour cream room temperature
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For The Strawberry Topping
- 2 cups sliced strawberries
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ½ cup white chocolate melting wafers melted (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F, line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper
Making The Crust
- In a large bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs and the melted butter until mixture is like wet sand, pack into bottom and slightly up the sides of prepared dish
- Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes while you prepare the filling
Making The Cheesecake
- In a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese, sugar, and sour cream until light and fluffy
- Add the eggs, heavy cream, and vanilla and beat until mixture is smooth
- Pour cheesecake into the crust and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until cheesecake is a bit puffed and no longer jiggly in the center
- Remove and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before transferring to fridge to chill at least 4 hours
Making The Topping
- In a medium saucepan, add the strawberries, sugar, water, corn syrup and cornstarch and stir well
- Heat over medium heat until it starts to simmer, stirring frequently
- Turn heat down to low and allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes until thickened and deep red
- Allow to cool, transfer to an airtight container and chill in fridge until ready to use
To Assemble
- Carefully remove the cheesecake using the parchment paper overhang, slice into 8 bars
- Add a spoonful of strawberry topping to each bar, being sure to get both berries and sauce on each
- Drizzle or pipe the melted white chocolate over the top of the bars
- Store in the fridge
Notes
- Don't want a graham cracker crust? Use shortbread cookie crumbs or even Oreo crumbs instead.
- Make sure the eggs, cream cheese, and sour cream are all at room temperature so they combine more easily when you make the cheesecake.
- Don't skip the cooling time! This is essential to letting your filling set up & stabilize so that the bars stay together when cut and when served.
- For perfectly cut bars, clean your knife after each cut and dip it into hot water (to keep it warm) wiping off any excess water in between each cut as well. We offer this same advice when slicing any cheesecake style dessert.
- Don't love strawberries? Substitute raspberries or blueberries in the sauce instead.
Nutrition
