Ali Bakes: Chocolate-Nutella Cheesecake Bars

Sammy was too busy to bake.  Everyone was too busy to bake.  I was too busy to bake AND I was too tired to bake.  But I needed to bake.  To be honest, I didn't even want to eat sweets all that much (I know, I know, you don't believe me...but I'm sick, so it's kinda sorta true...)

Yep, yesterday I NEEDED to bake.  The cosmos were telling me that it had to happen.  The ingredients were (mostly) all in my apartment, and besides sleep (psh, who needs that?), nothing was stopping me. 

Ok, well, technically the recipe called for butterscotch chips...and 'brownie brittle' (what IS that?!) and semisweet chocolate...  But that didn't matter, I had to bake.  The 'brownie brittle' turned into graham cracker crumbs, the butterscotch chips turned into Nutella, and the chocolate turned into cocoa powder.  Bam.  I was gonna bake.

And I did.  But at the expense of really good photos, because let's be real--these photos are some of my worst yet.  By the time I got antsy, the cheesecake was barely set, and I had no patience to actually take a good photo.  It was dark, I'm getting over a cold, and I was sleeeepy.  So taking good photos was the least of my priorities.

BUT the cheesecake bar inventions were delicious!  (Well duh, there was Nutella and chocolate involved!)  Next time I'll try harder to capture the deliciousness to better share with my lovely readers.  But for now, I'll just continue enjoying my cheesecake concoction.  :)

Chocolate-Nutella Cheesecake Bars
*adapted from foodfaithfitness.com

Ingredients:

1 Cup Graham Cracker Crumbs

¼ Cup Sugar

  ¼ Cup Butter, melted

For the cheesecake topping:

8 oz Cream Cheese

¼ Cup + 3 Tbs Sugar

1 Tbsp Flour

1 Tbs Cocoa Powder

1 Heaping Tbs Nutella

½ tsp Vanilla

¼ Cup + 2 Tbs Plain Greek Yogurt

1 Large Egg White

Instructions:

Grease a brownie pan with cooking spray.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Crush the graham crackers until they are a fine dust.  (You can use a food processor or a rolling pin/meat tenderizer to crush the graham crackers.)

Mix the crumbs with the sugar in a medium bowl.  Add in the melted butter and really stir to coat the crumbs evenly.

  Press the crumb mixture into the prepared baking pan, making sure to really pack it down tightly and evenly.

  Bake until the edges of the crust begin to just harden, about 20 minutes.

  In a large bowl, beat together the softened cream cheese and sugar until it’s light and fluffy.  Beat in the flour until it is just well combined –be careful not to over-mix and add in too much air as this causes cracks in your cheesecake!  It only takes a minute or so to combine the flour.

Melt the Nutella and cocoa powder in a small microwave-safe bowl for 20 second intervals, stirring each time. 

Stir the Nutella mixture, vanilla, Greek yogurt, and egg white into the cheesecake mixture.  Beat until just combined .

 Pour the cheesecake on top of the baked crust and smooth it out.  Bake until the cheesecake just feels set, about 25-30 minutes. The center may look  slightly jiggly, this is normal.  You don’t want to           over-bake it, as that also causes cracks.

Let the cheesecake cool for 20 minutes and then transfer to the refrigerator for 3 hours or overnight.  (Alternative:  I couldn't wait, so I put it in the freezer for an hour...)

Once set, cut into bars and eat your heart out!