Description
Brown butter carrot cake cookie bars with a cheesecake swirl are a delicious treat that’s sure to become a new favourite.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the cookie dough:
- 1 1/4 cup/165g all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp/98g unsalted butter, divided
- 1/2 cup/75g brown sugar
- 1/4 cup/55g white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup shredded carrot (about 2 medium carrots grated on a box grater)
- 1/2 cup walnuts (toasted & chopped)
For the cheesecake layer:
- 8 oz cream cheese (block, not spread), room temperature
- 1/3 cup/75g white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the cookie dough:
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice. Set aside.
- Heat up a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the 1/2 cup butter (112g) and let it melt, stirring constantly with a silicone whisk or spatula until bubbling and browned. It will start to smell nutty and look browned and foamy. Don’t stop stirring, it can easily burn. This should take about five to eight minutes total. Adjust the heat as needed to medium-low to avoid burning. Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl and then whisk in the remaining 1 tbsp (14g) of butter. Once melted, place in the fridge to cool for ten to 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper.
- Once the butter is cool, add it to the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer). Add the white sugar and brown sugar and turn the mixer on medium speed. Mix for about three to five minutes, until everything is fully incorporated and smooth.
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix again on medium until fully combined, about one minute.
- Add the prepared dry ingredients (flour mixture) to the mixer and mix until fully combined and holds together. Fold in the carrot and walnuts until just combined.
- Take about 2/3 of the cookie dough and transfer to the prepared baking dish. Press down into an even layer and set aside.
- Wipe out the stand mixer and prepare the cheesecake filling, see below.
- Spread the cheesecake layer over the cookie dough. Take the remaining cookie dough and scatter it over the cheesecake.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until almost fully set. The cheesecake can look a little jiggly still, it will continue to cook and set as it sits.
- Place the baking dish on a cooling rack and cool for 30 minutes and then transfer to the fridge to set for two hours.
- Use a sharp knife to slice into bars. Enjoy!
For the cheesecake layer:
- In a stand mixer, combine the room temperature cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla. Mix on medium-high until completely smooth and creamy.
Notes
How to slice: to get clean slices, run your knife under hot water and then pat dry. Do this before every slice!
Use a scale: I highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking. It not only makes things much more accurate, it also lessens the amount of things you need to clean too! I provide both options (cups and weight) but very much prefer and recommend using a kitchen scale.