The ultimate summer dessert and a great way to use up that rhubarb growing in your garden! These Strawberry Rhubarb Streusel Cheesecake Bars have an oatmeal cookie crust, a creamy layer of cheesecake topped with strawberry rhubarb filling and a streusel top!
These Strawberry Rhubarb Streusel Cheesecake Bars are the BEST fruity flavors of summer, wrapped up in a delicious dessert bar that will knock your socks right off your feet. Good thing it’s flip flop season. When we first moved into our house, Dave’s mom gave us a big chunk of rhubarb to plant and since then, it’s been monster’ized. It’s my favorite type of plant really. It grows back every year, produces food that you can make delicious treats with, and requires LITERALLY no effort whatsoever. ILY rhubarb.
These Strawberry Rhubarb Streusel Cheesecake Bars are inspired by an And They Cooked Happily Ever After relic – one of my very first recipes from back in the day when this blog was just a wee little babbbby. It’s so funny to me how in the life of a blog, especially one that you’ve had for a while, you aquire so many recipes, ones that you just absolutely love, but they get lost in the archives.
I’m not a girl whose afraid to do the shortcut thing – and this recipe uses Betty Crocker’s Oatmeal Cookie Mix which gives that delicious, oatmeal crust and streusel topping which seriously just adds so much flavor to these beauties. Also, make ahead pie filling might be the easiest thing in the world to make. You literally throw stuff in a saucepan, turn it to low/medium heat, and it cooks down to a glorious fruity filling that you can use right away or store for future pies to be born at a later time. And this layer of cheesecake I could probably make in ma’ sleep – cuz’ you guys now I’m kind of into the cheesecake brownie/bar scene (as evidenced here, here, here and here – and like lots of other places in this blog house).
As noted in the recipe notes below, the measurements for the strawberry rhubarb filling will yield a thick, “jam-like” consistency. If you prefer more of a “chunky” filling though, add a cup of each, strawberry and rhubarb, to the mixture, keeping the other measurements the same.
Get out and get to town on that rhubarb plant so you can make these Strawberry Rhubarb Streusel Cheesecake Bars!
- 2 cups strawberries, hulled and cut into quarters*
- 2 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2" cubes
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup flour (or cornstarch - most pie filling recipes call for cornstarch but I didn't have any, so flour works A-ok)
- 1 pouch Betty Crocker oatmeal cookie mix
- 1/2 cup cold butter or margarine, cubed
- 1 8oz block cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray bottom and sides of an 8"x8" baking pan with cooking spray (or line with parchment paper)
- Place all of the ingredients for the strawberry rhubarb filling in a medium saucepan and cook over low-medium heat for about 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently. The fruit will cook down and become the consistency of a thick jam. Once cooked, remove from heat and set aside for 10-15 minutes to let cool.
- Place cookie mix in large bowl. With pastry blender or fork, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly and coarse (you can even mix with your hands if necessary). Reserve 1&1/2 cups of the crumb mixture; press remaining crumbs in bottom of pan.
- Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, egg and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
- Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over the crust. The, spoon the strawberry rhubarb filling evenly over the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle reserved crumbs over top.
- Bake 45 to 50 minutes until the center is no longer jiggly. Let cool about 30 minutes and then chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving. Store covered in refrigerator until ready to cut into bars.
- This amount of strawberries and rhubarb yielded a "non-chunky", almost more of a jam-like filling for the cheesecake bars. If you prefer more of a thick/chunky filling, add 1 additional cup of each - strawberry and rhubarb.