Black and White Cheesecake Bars

These Black and White Cheesecake Bars are cute for a cow or barn themed party, or delicious for any occasion! Chocolate and cheesecake are the perfect pair!

The Navy (or probably the military in general) uses a lot of acronyms. A LOT. As in, every single possible event, action, training, school… they’re all described by mystical combinations of our 26 letters. It’s pretty much impossible to follow as a newbie military wife, and even after almost 6 years of being around it, I still come across plenty that I don’t know. Just smile and nod.

One of the funnier acronyms I’ve come across is the COW. That’s the commanding officer’s wife. That poor lady has to be a COW. Moooooo. Luckily all the COWs I’ve ever known have embraced the term, and there all kinds of fun traditions for a new COW, like decorating her yard in milk jugs and making her wear plastic udders.

Our squadron recently got a new CO, and that means we also got a new COW. The COW is the head of our spouse group, so we had a little party to congratulate her. Lucky for her, we didn’t make her wear the udders, but we did have a fun cow-themed party.

I don’t miss an opportunity to make fun-themed food, so I found these cute Black & White Cheesecake Bars from Martha Stewart that fit the bill perfectly. They totally reminded me of a cow! Most people probably don’t throw cow-themed parties, but these bars were so yummy you can really make them for any occasion.

The bars were a hit, and how cute is this cake that one of our super talented wives made? It kinda put my bars to shame but I loved it!

Black and White Cheesecake Bars

 

Print

Author: Martha Stewart

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 24

Ingredients

• 2 cups plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 10 oz (2½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2½ tsp vanilla extract
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Line dish with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on both long sides, then spray parchment paper with nonstick spray and set pan aside.
2. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add 2 eggs and 2 tsp vanilla, and continue beating until smooth.
3. Slowly add flour mixture and beat until well mixed.
4. Reserve 1 cup of dough, cover, and refrigerate. Press remaining dough into bottom of prepared dish. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bake until base is set and edges are puffed, about 25 minutes. Let cool in dish on a wire rack. With an electric mix, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, remaining egg and ½ tsp vanilla. Spread over cooled base, then crumble reserved dough on top.
6. Bake until filling is set, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in dish on wire rack, then lift out using overhanging parchment paper. Cut into 24 squares.

3.5.3208