From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...These cheesecake bars were one of two kitchen surprises this holiday season. They, along with the Poteca cake, proved to be delicious and what began as an attempt to find something different for holiday meals, ended up with the addition of two new recipes to my holiday repertoire. These bars are simply wonderful and I recommend them to you without reservation. They were inspired by a recipe I found in an old issue of Bon Appetit magazine, and, to be honest, I decided to make the bars only because I had whiskey left from the provisions for Irish coffee that we served at get-together earlier in the week. I closely followed the original recipe, but I added whiskey to the ingredient list and decided to "frost" the bars with whipped cream rather than dollop it over them. I also decided to freeze the cheesecake prior to cutting it into bars. This makes for neat slices which help improve their appearance. Once cut, I returned the bars the freezer where they could be extracted in any quantity needed for a specific occasion. I cannot be trusted when there is a ready-to-eat cheesecake in the house, so the freezing step is an absolute necessity in our house. The bars can be thawed in the refrigerator in an hour or so, but when pressed for time, they can be thawed at room temperature in about 20 minutes. This is not an overly sweet dessert and if you enjoy coffee flavored desserts, you will love these bars. They are truly espresso flavored, and, it goes without saying, that more whiskey can be added should you feel it's needed. Here is how the bars are made.
