What’s better than one dessert? Two, of course! Tender almond flour crust meets creamy sugar-free cheesecake in these delicious Keto Sugar Cookie Cheesecake Bars.
I don’t think I ever truly appreciated sugar cookies in my youth. They just seemed kind of uninteresting compared to other cookies.
But once I created my own keto sugar cookies, I came to understand their appeal. Tender and sweet, they are kind of blank slate, waiting for you to add your own special touch.
I have any number of keto recipes that play on the sugar cookie theme, such as soft keto lemon sugar cookies. And my kids often request this keto cookie cake for their birthdays.
And now I’ve combined it with the creamiest keto cheesecake for a truly delicious dessert mashup!
Two desserts in one
Everyone loves recipes that combine two desserts into one mouthwatering treat. I mean, why wouldn’t you love it? So much flavor in a single bite.
For example, keto chocolate chip cookies and keto pecan pie come together in my Kentucky Derby Pie recipe. And Keto Brownie Cheesecake really needs no explanation!
This current recipes is a bit of a riff on another popular dessert: Keto Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars. I spotted a conventional sugar cookie version on Smart Schoolhouse and thought it was ripe for a keto makeover.
Ingredients
- Butter
- Cream cheese
- Almond flour
- Keto sweetener – both granular and powdered
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Baking powder
- Heavy whipping cream
- Sugar-free sprinkles – you can make them yourself or you can purchase them online.
How to make Keto Sugar Cookie Cheesecake Bars
- Cream the butter: Make sure your butter is nice and soft but not melted, and beat with the granulated sweetener until nice and fluffy.
- Use room temperature eggs: There’s no sense in adding cold eggs to nicely creamed, softened butter. It will clump up all over again!
- Beat in the dry ingredients: You can add the almond flour and other dry ingredients all at once and beat them in.
- Fold in the sprinkles: Gently fold in the sprinkles rather than beating them in, as they are small and breakable.
- Par-bake the bottom crust: Press about half of the mixture into the bottom of a 9×9 inch pan as evenly as you can, then bake 12 minutes. It will still be quite soft at this point but let it cool completely before adding the filling.
- Prepare the cheesecake filling: This is a basic vanilla cheesecake filling that tastes divine matched with the sugar cookie crust. Once the crust is cool, pour the filling over top and spread to the edges.
- Crumble the remaining crust: Take the remaining crust mixture and use your fingers to break it up and crumble it over the filling.
- Bake until golden: Bake until the top crust is turning golden and the cheesecake filling is mostly set, with a little jiggle in the center.
- Chill before cutting: Let cool completely on the counter and then chill for at least one hour to set the cheesecake center.
Frequently Asked Questions
This is a tricky one. Coconut flour does not make for very good sugar cookie dough, in my opinion. You could try sunflower seed flour, but it has a grey tinge and you will need to add some lemon juice to offset the green reaction.
Very possibly but you need to understand how this will affect your results. Please read my Guide to Keto Sweeteners. I will say that allulose has a tendency to brown baked goods much faster and I don’t recommend it here.
That’s definitely possible! Try coconut oil in the sugar cookie dough, and dairy-free cream cheese like Kite Hill plus 2 tablespoons of coconut cream, for the filling.
You can purchase pre-made sprinkles on Etsy (The Sprinkle Company) or on Amazon from Good Dee’s. You can also make your own and I link to my homemade version right in the recipe below.
Store the bars in the fridge in a covered container for up to 5 days. You can also freeze these bars in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
More delicious keto dessert bars
- Keto Nanaimo Bars
- Copycat Keto Twix Bars
- Keto S’mores Bars
- No Bake Keto Peanut Butter Bars
- Butterscotch Cheesecake Bars
- Strawberry Cheesecake Bars
- Linzer Cookie Bars
Keto Sugar Cookie Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Dough
- ¾ cup butter softened
- ¾ cup Swerve Granular
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¾ cups almond flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon sugar-free sprinkles
Cheesecake Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- ⅓ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Sugar Cookie Dough
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and grease a 9 inch square pan well.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sweetener until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg, egg yolks, and vanilla.
- All at once, add the almond flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until the dough comes together. By hand, gently stir in the sprinkles.
- Press about half the dough into the prepared baking pan and bake 12 minutes, until lightly browned around the edges. Then remove from the oven and let cool (it will not be fully baked at this point)
Cheesecake Filling
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the powdered sweetener and beat until well combined. Beat in the egg and vanilla, then add the heavy cream, beating until smooth
- Pour the filling over the cooled crust. Take the remaining cookie crust mixture and crumble over the top of the filling, pressing lightly to adhere.
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until the top crust is golden and the filling is just a little jiggly in the center. Remove from the oven and let cool, then refrigerate for 1 hour until set.
Mary says
Have you ever substituted lupine flour or coconut flour for the almond flour? I’m not too keen on almond flour and neither is my husband it seems to make all recipes a little dry and off tasting.
Carolyn says
Neither will work in this recipe.
Debra says
I had these on my list to make for quite some time, and last night was it. They turned out great, and this tastes so much like real sugar cookie dough. Didn’t use sprinkles because I didn’t have any and it would have taken me too long to make them, so left them out. They look better with them though. I thought I could add real sprinkles but – eye opener – LOTS of carbs! More than I would have thought for just a couple tablespoons. I added a bit of almond flavouring as well as vanilla and it was great. I did forget the whipping cream in the cheesecake mixture but it turned out great anyway. I guess that gives me an excuse to make them again right away.???? Great recipe Carolyn!
linda says
I just made this and I have to say…it is delish! Since I could not wait I had some while it was warm. I think its even better warm:)
Neysa says
Carolyn these are fabulous and so easy to make! Thank you for the recipe! I added Lilly’s chips instead of sprinkles.
Carolyn says
Glad you enjoyed them!
Nicole says
Can I use another sweetener besides swerve?
Carolyn says
Please read the blog post as I addressed that already.
Tiffany M says
I saw these and put them on my “Must Make” list! I did a little something different and used silicon muffin cups to make individual servings. Makes portion control super easy. This is easier than it looks and tastes even better than you can imagine. You won’t be disappointed!
Melissa says
The batter and dough taste wonderful. Mine is setting up in the fridge now. I just noticed I forgot the heavy whipping cream!!!! I’m crossing my fingers they still turn out.
Josi says
Hiw did they torn out without the HWC? I was just wondering if 1/2&1/2 would work, since I’m out of HWC.
Josi says
Turn, not torn…
Natasha says
I just made these delicious Keto Cheesecake Bars this morning and oh my gosh, it was perfection! This is the best recipe I’ve tried for Cheesecake Bars and they’re keto so that’s another plus!
April says
Holy moly these were amazing!
Kristyn says
These are so pretty & so delicious! They are my go-to dessert & always a hit!
Michelle says
This was amazing – definitely making it again
Michele says
This is so decadent…and yummy! I did use 2 whole eggs, and used 1/2c coconut flour in place of 1 c of almond flour, and it turned out great. My husband loves it, it was very difficult not to cut right into it when it was hot!
I will be making this regularly from now on.
Corliss Fleming says
We don’t usually care for keto desserts but I decided to try these as they looked delicious. We were not disappointed! They were so good even our “sugary” son in law loved them! We ate some last night with some homegrown strawberries and oh my goodness!!! Will be making these again and I’m ready to tackle new desserts too. We read your email daily and would like to thank you for making our keto journey a little less daunting and delicious!!
Carolyn says
So glad!
Lori says
Oh my gosh Carolyn if I could give this recipe 10 stars I would…absolutely delicious. The whole time they were baking the house smelled just like sugar cookies. Even hubbie commented how good they smelled. I swear I saw him lick his plate after a piece or two lol ???? greetings from Canada ????????
Mary Manello says
Carolyn, you are such an expert and I appreciate you, greatly! QUESTION: I have a recipe that I’m turning keto, but need help with one aspect: It’s called “Sugar Cookie Cookie-Butter Bars”. Thanks to ChocZero’s keto version of Cookie-Butter, I have everything perfect except the cookie crust. I need a 9 x 13 fully baked sugar cookie crust (when it’s cooled, the cookie-butter layer goes on, as well as a chocolate ganache). It is an INCREDIBLY dreamy, delicious cookie, that I’d be thrilled to share with you! If I smash this entire cookie-dough recipe into a 9 x13 pan (obviously, not needing to hold back 1/2 of it) how long would it need to be in the oven, for it to be fully baked, and ready to accommodate the creamy toppings? Thank you so much!
Carolyn says
How thin is the crust supposed to be? I think that will help determine things. If it’s not supposed to be super thick, I would recommend using my Keto Sugar Cookie Cake instead.
Mary Manello says
Ha! This is why you’re the expert. I wouldn’t say the cookie crust is supposed to be super thick. Ample, yes, but nor super thick. I will check out your sugar cookie CAKE recipe! Thank you and God bless you for making our lives deliciously HEALTHY!
Carolyn says
My gut instinct is to go with the sugar cookie cake as the crust, sans the white chocolate chips. Because 9×9 = 81, but 9×13 = 117, so it’s not double in terms of pan size. I think the crust for these bars would be too thick…
KimR says
I hate separating eggs and not using both parts in a recipe. I buy the (pricey) powdered egg white protein only to throw away actual egg whites? I don’t bake enough to save the egg white to use in another recipe. I usually will skip on these recipes. This one looks so good though!
What will happen if I just use 2 eggs for the cookie dough? or fold whipped egg whites into the filling?
Carolyn says
Two eggs make the cookie dough too wet. Did you know you can freeze egg whites as is? Then you can keep them to make delicious recipes like my Keto Swiss Meringue Buttercream. https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/best-sugar-free-frosting/
You should start bookmarking recipes that take egg whites or egg yolks only. They are useful and delicious, and you will be glad you didn’t skip them. Also… you can also simply use the extras in omelets or egg bakes. No need to toss anything.
KimR says
Great ideas. Thanks for the input!
Dana Bishop says
May I leave out the sprinkles?
Carolyn says
Of course!