Cheesecake bars with oatmeal raisin cookies baked on top! You’ll love the combo of chewy cookies and creamy cheesecake in these Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Cheesecake Bars.
Dessert bars are some of my favorite comfort food treats. If you like oatmeal cookie bars, try these Monster Cookie Cheesecake Bars too!
For the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Fan
There’s no getting around it. You either love oatmeal raisin cookies or hate them with the heat of a thousand suns.
I’m in the first camp. I love the chewy texture, brown sugar sweetness and juicy raisins baked inside of each one. Oatmeal raisin cookies are simple, comforting and cozy, like a favorite sweater.
And since they have oatmeal and fruit in them I can pretend they’re healthy!
Today’s Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Cheesecake Bars were created for us: the oatmeal raisin cookie lovers of the world.
- Layers of graham cracker crust, vanilla cheesecake and oatmeal raisin cookies baked together in one pan.
- The cookie bars are lightly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Slightly crunchy edges with a perfect creamy center.
- A delicious new way to enjoy the classic cookie flavors.
If you’re a raisin hater, you can make my Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars Recipe instead. Let us oatmeal raisin cookie fans have this one!
Ingredient Notes
This recipe has three components: crust, cheesecake and oatmeal cookie dough.
- Graham cracker crumbs – These are mixed with melted butter to form the crust.
- Cream cheese – Creates the foundation for the cheesecake, along with eggs and sugar.
- Vanilla extract – For flavoring the cheesecake and the cookies,I love this homemade Vanilla Extract.
- Crisco shortening – Makes the cookie layer super chewy! I use the butter flavored version.
- Brown sugar – Gives the cookies a moist, sweet taste and a light molasses flavor.
- Oatmeal – I use quick cook oats for this recipe, which are somewhere between rolled oats and instant oats when it comes to texture and size.
- Raisins – Make sure to use a freshly opened package for best results. No one wants dry, tough raisins in their cookies!
- Spices – Ground cinnamon and nutmeg are the perfect complement to the raisins and oats!
Tips and Tricks
- Drop the cookie dough over the cheesecake layer by the spoonful. Use your fingertips to spread the dough out so it covers all the cheesecake and there are no gaps between the dough.
- Bake until the cookie layer is golden brown and fully set. The cheesecake will still look a little jiggly, which is okay.
- Cool oatmeal raisin cookie cheesecake bars completely BEFORE putting them in the refrigerator to chill.
- The bars need to chill for at least 4 hours before eating. I recommend making them the day before and storing them in the fridge overnight.
Recipe FAQs
Dried cranberries (craisins) would taste great in these bars too! Or leave out the raisins if you like your oatmeal cookies plain.
Store the oatmeal cookie cheesecake bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They stay good for about 5 days.
You can use butter but shortening produces the best results. The water content in shortening gives the cookies a soft, chewy texture that’s irresistible.
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Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 2 ½ cups cinnamon graham cracker crumbs about 18 full size crackers
- ½ cup melted butter
For the filling:
- 2 packages cream cheese, softened 8 ounce each
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the cookie dough:
- ¾ cup butter flavored Crisco
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups quick cook oatmeal
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 ½ cup raisins
Instructions
- Line a 13×9 baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside. Preheat oven for 350 degrees.
- In a food processor, pulse graham crackers until fine crumbs. Add in melted butter and pulse until combined.
- Press crumbs into bottom of prepared baking dish. Using palm of your hand (or bottom of a cup) press crumbs firmly until they are pressed into the bottom of the pan.
- For the cheesecake filling, beat cream cheese with sugar, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon using the whisk attachment of an electric mixer. Beat until fluffy and smooth (about 3-4 minutes). Pour over graham crust.
- For the cookie dough, beat Crisco with sugars for 2 minutes. Add egg, milk, and vanilla and beat thoroughly. Add in flour, oatmeal, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg and beat until fully combined. Fold in raisins. Scoop dough by large spoonfuls onto the top of the cheesecake layer. Try to use your fingertips to spread gently until cheesecake layer if fully covered.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, middle may still “jiggle.” That’s okay. You want the cookie layer to be completely cooked and browned. Remove from oven and cool completely. Once cooled, cover with foil and refrigerate for 4 hours, or overnight. Cut into squares and enjoy. Keep leftover bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Drop the cookie dough over the cheesecake layer by the spoonful. Use your fingertips to spread the dough out so it covers all the cheesecake and there are no gaps between the dough.
- Bake until the cookie layer is golden brown and fully set. The cheesecake will still look a little jiggly, which is okay.
- Cool oatmeal raisin cookie cheesecake bars completely BEFORE putting them in the refrigerator to chill.
- The bars need to chill for at least 4 hours before eating. I recommend making them the day before and storing them in the fridge overnight.
I live in Scotland so can you tell me what Crisco is
It’s shortening 🙂
I’m with your kiddos on this one, while oatmeal raisins are not for me I know a few people who would die for these. Cookies plus cheesecake are such a fab combo!
It’s bittersweet to watch our kids get older and move on. On one hand it is sad because seriously how does time go so quickly…it seems like just yesterday they were tiny and needed me every second of the day. And on the other hand it is exciting to see the changes and growth in them as they get older. We may not have a human designed parenting manual…but thank goodness for the Bible and God’s truths that we can instill in our children. Love these fun bars…I’m a raisin fan!!!!
It truly is bittersweet, I can’t argue with that one bit 🙂
Oatmeal raisin cookies are my all-time faves, so these look heavenly to me!! Definitely pinning and making soon!
If you love Oatmeal Raisin Cookies I’m pretty sure you’ll love these bars. Thanks for pinning 🙂
As of Thursday I will have a senior in high school, another entering in, one who flew the cuckoo’s nest, one in prek and a second grader. I SO feel you! No one gave us a manual and no one ever told us how hard it would be to let go. Thanks for sharing!
It is so crazy how fast it goes 🙂
These look amazing! Totally a pick me up after a rough couple of days 🙂
Hope your week gets better 🙂
If there’;s a guidebook out there, can you hand it over? I think we do the best we can, and that’s really going to have to be enough. Because mom guilt is born the exact same minute our children are, and if we’re feeling worried about being the best we can be, we’re probably doing really well.
And we deserve these treats for ourselves, too. These are so thick and make me very happy. I love cheesecake bars more than almost anything!
We moms do deserve to treat ourselves 🙂 And so true, mom guilt is ROUGH.