Christmas Cookie Week - Eggnog Cheesecake Squares with Cranberry Relish

*Enter my giveaway for the brass knot earrings that ends tomorrow :-)
It is Thursday and day 4 of my Christmas cookie week and today it is some yummy eggnog and cheesecake goodness! I am linking up this recipe to the Improve Cooking Challenge and this month's two required recipes are eggnog and cranberry. I thought this recipe would be perfect for that :-)


Anything that has eggnog in it sings to my heart. And I mean real eggnog, not some nutmeg and rum through in a recipe to make it be considered eggnog, no, give me the real, calorie-laden stuff! I decided to try this recipe out this year and think the results are outstanding. I know this are the traditional drop or cut out cookies, but I do consider bar cookies still cookies. 
First, gather together your ingredients. For the crust base, you need 1 1/2 cups finely smashed ginger snaps (this is a 10-ounce bag minus ten snaps), 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 a stick of butter, melted. 
For the eggnog cheesecake filling, you need 1 pound cream cheese, room temperature, 2 large eggs, 1 large egg yolk, 3/4 cup eggnog, 1 heaping tablespoon flour, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 3/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg.



Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake these squares in a 9X9 baking pan and grease the tin.To make the crust, in a small bowl combine the crushed ginger snaps, the butter and 3 tablespoons of sugar.





 Press the mixture into the bottom of your baking tin. Bake the crust for 12 minutes. 


Make the cheesecake filling while the crust bakes. In a mixing bowl, cream the cheese cream then add the remaining 3/4 cup of white sugar and beat these two ingredients until they are light and fluffy.







 Beat the eggs into the mixture one at a time. 




Then add the remaining yolk, eggnog, flour, vanilla, and nutmeg. Give these ingredients a good beating with your machine to make sure they are fully incorporated. Scrape any ingredients from the side of the bowl if need be and make sure this mixture is smooth. 



Pour this cheesecake mixture into your baked crust. Set the baking tin into another larger baking dish. Add boiling water into the larger dish just until it comes up to the halfway point of the dish that has the cheesecake bars in it.

Put your bars into the oven for 45 minutes or until the filling is set. When you take it out of the oven, remove your smaller baking dish with the cheesecake squares and it is on a rack to cool. Let the squares cool to room temperature and then refrigerator for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. 
Cut the squares into 16 pieces, then serve, spoon some cranberry relish on top eat and enjoy!



And come back tomorrow for day 4 of my Christmas cookie week!
How to package these cookies if you are giving them away as a gift or going to a cookie exchange.








Source: penniesonaplatter.com via Meg on Pinterest























41 comments:

Simply LKJ said...

There aren't any calories in those, right? Yum!!!

Jamie Leigh said...

I'm usually not a fan of eggnog, but those looks super tasty!!

Katie {Miss Dixie} said...

I usually dont like eggnog but if you put it with cheesecake I'm sure I could handle that! those look delish!

Hilliary Meisner said...

Oh my oh my! These look delicious, cheesecake is a weakness of mine! I think I have some serious baking to do this weekend! Enjoy your day!! The weekend is so close!

Jenn @ Bliss to Bean said...

Um, I wish you could come to my cookie party on Saturday!! You'd fit right in over here! :) I just love your cookie countdown, Meg!

Unknown said...

You had me at cheesecake. :)

alissa {33shadesofgreen} said...

Anything cheesecake and I'm in! They sound delicious!

Michelle said...

Yum! So many great recipes everyday!

Jennifer @ Delightfully Noted said...

You had me at "cheesecake"........

Unknown said...

um these sound SO GOOD. I think I might accidentaly eat the whole pan if I made these though..

Laura said...

Those look and sound yummy Meg!! Anything made with eggnog has such a great flavor!!

Sarah said...

Wow this is definitely my favorite so far. Egg Nog and cheese cake...I'm so there!

- Sarah
http://agirlintransit.blogspot.com

Lexie Loo, Lily, Liam & Dylan Too said...

They sound good!

The Three Little Piglets said...

I totally agree - it has to be real eggnog or no dice! There are an awful lot of bad eggnogs out there just giving eggnog a bad name quite frankly!

Carolina HeartStrings said...

Hello fellow ICC blogger. This looks just delicious. Come over and check out our cookie and be sure to register to win the wonderful book we are giving away. Today is the last day. Look for the Southern Fried Women post.

Alexa said...

Anything that says cheesecake...sign me up! Ha.

Unknown said...

You are one busy baker! :) These sound heavenly. I'm pretty sure calories don't count during the holidays. ;)

http://shannonhearts.blogspot.com/

amy b.s. said...

and this just got added to my list of things to make!

The Life Of Faith said...

Yum those look good! Thanks for following me:) I will return the favor! Have a great day!

his little lady said...

um, can you send me some?!?! it looks delicious!!!
xo TJ

Ashley said...

I'm not a big eggnog person but these may have me willing to give it a try!

Niina - My Paper Chaos said...

These look wonderful! But to be honest I haven't even tried eggnog before, it's not really a Swedish tradition! :)

BeckyJo606 said...

I was wondering if you were going to incorporate eggnog into any of your Christmas cookie recipes!! These look so delicious! :)

Mandy@OrangeAutumn said...

YUM!! These look sooo good!!

Krysta said...

Those sound so yummy! Isn't eggnog flavored food delicous? I'm with you, girl!

Why Girls Are Weird said...

YUM, that looks delish!

Lindsay said...

Wow, that sounds so good! Thanks for sharing!

Tiffany said...

looks so good..so many people are posting Christmas recipes these days it really makes me wish I had an oven!!

Makaila said...

WOW. These look and sounds AMAZING! Will have to get them on my bake list before Christmas.
-m-

Breeanna @ a brilliant melody said...

I haven't eaten dinner yet, so I'm wishing I had some of these treats to eat! They look yummy!

Breeanna @ a brilliant melody said...

p.s. On my blog tomorrow, I'm sharing about your Christmas Cookie Week :)

Anonymous said...

A delicious cheesecake - it looks so rich and creamy! YUMMY! A great Improv entry!

Sarah said...

I would have never thought of putting these things together. Eggnog + cheesecake...my Mister may die of happiness.

Little Mommy Kim said...

Cheesecake? Count me in!

Megan said...

Oh my gosh, YUM YUM YUM!!! You are super baker!!

Meggan said...

That cookie looks absolutely divine!! I am so impressed with your cookie week!

Summer-Raye said...

This is a cookie I've never tried or heard of. How fun.

Have a great weekend.

xoSummer

Teri said...

This cookie looks fantastic! Yummy!

Kristen said...

What a great improv entry. I love anything cheesecake. Those bars sound amazing.

Anonymous said...

yum! I love your challenge recipe!

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home said...

Well, this is definitely new to me! And they sound fabulous!