These incredible Salted Caramel Pretzel Cheesecake Bars come along with a 4 ingredients pretzel crust, a 4 ingredients cheesecake filling, and a 4 ingredients salted caramel pretzel topping. Gooey caramel meets creamy cheesecake and crunchy pretzels. Watch VIDEO below. ⇓
Salted Caramel Pretzel Cheesecake Bars – a perfect flavor combo
Things are going back to normal. Two days ago was my first work day after my holidays. Jetlag is gone, I’m feeling great, I have the cool California spirit in my heart, and I’m full of creative ideas for my blog. Although I’m a bit sad that holidays are over, I’m happy at the same time to be back to cook and bake for you. I missed you and my blog so so much. ♥
In the USA, I ate so much stuff with salted caramel, caramel with peanut butter, or caramel and pretzels that I was inspired to make something with salted caramel and pretzels. I love this combo. After thinking about making cookies with these two ingredients, I finally ended up with these Salted Caramel Pretzel Cheesecake Bars.
Creamy cheesecake filling on a pretzel and graham cracker crust with gooey caramel, pretzels, and coarse salt on top. YUM.
The perfect pretzel crust
The problem with pretzel crusts is that they mostly are too crumbly and don’t stick together like a graham cracker crust. I wanted to have the highest possible firmness in the crust but without losing the taste of the pretzels.
I made a few different versions of the pretzel crust and ended up with 3/4 cup of pretzel and 3/4 cup of graham cracker crumbs. The pretzel crust is a bit crumbly but firm enough to stay in shape. The graham cracker crumbs don’t affect the taste of the pretzel crust in a bad way.
Just 4 ingredients are required for this pretzel crust: pretzels, graham crackers, brown sugar, and butter.
The easiest cheesecake ever
We all know this feeling when the final moment of cheesecake baking is coming, and you find out it’s cracked. Boom. Game over. But don’t worry too much, this happens to the best of us.
With this Salted Caramel Pretzel Cheesecake Bars recipe, these problems are over for now. You don’t need to think about that any longer. It is the easiest cheesecake recipe ever.
This recipe comes along with a 4 ingredients cheesecake filling. Cream cheese, egg, vanilla, sugar. Bake the filling for about 30-35 minutes at 350°F. No changing temperatures during baking needed neither you need to let the cheesecake bars in the oven after they are done.
Pretty simple and absolutely fail proof. Like I said before, easiest cheesecake ever.
Gooey caramel, crunchy pretzels, and coarse salt on top
For the topping, you also need just 4 ingredients. Wrapped caramels, heavy whipping cream, pretzels and coarse salt. If you don’t want to add extra saltiness to your Salted Caramel Pretzel Cheesecake Bars, just leave it out.
I didn’t use extra salt for the pretzel crust nor the cheesecake filling. The pretzels themselves have salt on it. So if you want to make just the cheesecake bars without salted caramel and pretzels on top, you don’t need to add extra salt to the recipe. It is well balanced in flavor.
The coarse salt on top adds a nice and crunchy bite and fits the sweet and gooey caramel perfectly.
This Salted Caramel Pretzel Cheesecake Bars recipe is the perfect fit for your needs if
- you are looking for a perfect pretzel crust
- you want to make the easiest cheesecake
- you have serious cravings for caramel, pretzels, cheesecake, or ANYTHING sweet
Happy baking, friends!
If you try this Salted Caramel Pretzel Cheesecake Bars recipe leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #alsothecrumbsplease on Instagram! Would love to see your snap!
These incredible Salted Caramel Pretzel Cheesecake Bars come along with a 4 ingredients pretzel crust, a 4 ingredients cheesecake filling, and a 4 ingredients salted caramel pretzel topping. Gooey caramel meets creamy cheesecake and crunchy pretzels.
- 3/4 cup salty pretzels finely ground (1 1/2 cup whole pretzels) (60g)
- 3/4 cup graham crackers (ground) (75g)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar (50g)
- 6 tbsp butter melted (70g)
- 16 oz cream cheese (450g)
- 1 egg
- 1 vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
- 1/3 cup granulated white sugar (67g)
- 10 oz wrapped caramels (280g)
- 3 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup pretzels (30g)
- OPTIONAL: pinch of coarse sea salt
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 10x7 or 8x8 inch baking pan with parchment paper with enough overhang on the sides. Set aside.
Start with the pretzel crust. Therefore, in a blender or food processor combine pretzels and graham crackers and pulse into very fine crumbs. Pour into a bowl with melted butter and sugar and stir to combine. Press into prepared baking pan and bake for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool until you are finished with the filling.
For the cheesecake filling mix with a handheld or stand mixer cream cheese on medium speed until smooth for about 1 minute. Add egg, vanilla*, and sugar and mix until creamy for about 2-3 minutes. Spoon onto baked crust. Bake for about 30-35 minutes until cheesecake is set.
While the cheesecake bars are baking, prepare the caramel topping. In a medium sized bowl combine caramels and heavy cream and microwave until caramel is melted for about 2 minutes. Stir every 20 seconds. Set aside.
Remove cheesecake bars from oven and spoon caramel sauce on top evenly. Press pretzels on top. You can crush pretzels into a few pieces or let them whole. Allow to cool at room temperature for about 15 minutes then transfer to the refrigerator to cool completely. Cut into squares and sprinkle with coarse sea salt before serving if desired. Store in an airtight box in the fridge up to 2 days.
Could you use a 9×13 pan?
Yes, when you double the recipe you can bake it in a 9×13 pan. Otherwise it would be too little for that big pan. Baking time wouldn’t change that much, maybe a few minutes shorter or longer. Remove the bars from the oven when the cheesecake is set. Hope that helps!