Churro Cheesecake is the recipe that Teresa discovered when she was planning a Cinco de Mayo gathering and needed something that captured the most beloved cinnamon sugar flavors of a classic churro in a make-ahead bar format that could be refrigerated the night before and sliced into beautiful portions the morning of the celebration without any of the last-minute baking pressure.
She pressed the crescent roll dough into the bottom of the pan, poured the sweetened cream cheese filling over it, laid the second sheet of crescent dough on top, poured melted butter all over, sprinkled the cinnamon sugar generously, and baked the whole thing until the top was golden and puffed and the kitchen smelled like the most completely festive Mexican dessert experience imaginable.
Churro Cheesecake Bars are the most clever and completely brilliant Cinco de Mayo dessert that combines the buttery flaky texture that mimics churro dough with the creamy and tangy sweetened cream cheese filling of a classic cheesecake and the most fragrant cinnamon sugar topping of an authentic churro all in one completely easy 7-ingredient bar that comes together in minutes. Crescent roll dough as the crust, creamy sweetened cream cheese in the middle, more crescent dough on top, butter and cinnamon sugar over everything. Come follow us on Pinterest where we share beautiful Cinco de Mayo churro desserts and easy crowd-pleasing treats from our kitchen every single week.
Table of Contents
Why You Will Love This Churro Cheesecake Recipe
This Churro Cheesecake recipe is the Cinco de Mayo crowd dessert that serves 16 people from a single 9 by 13-inch baking pan, requires only 7 ingredients, takes approximately 20 minutes of preparation, and produces a result so genuinely extraordinary and so completely crowd-pleasing that it becomes the first thing to disappear from every celebration table it lands on. The store-bought crescent roll dough is the ingredient that makes this recipe so brilliantly efficient. When unrolled and pressed into the pan it creates a buttery and flaky base layer that is texturally very similar to churro dough and provides the most satisfying and completely appropriate crust for a churro-inspired dessert bar.
The cream cheese filling made from only three stirred-together ingredients, softened cream cheese, granulated sugar, egg, and vanilla, produces a smooth and creamy center that provides the most beautiful tangy and sweet contrast against the cinnamon sugar topping and the buttery crust. The combination of all three elements in a single bar, flaky churro-like pastry, creamy cheesecake, and cinnamon sugar crunch, is one of the most genius and completely satisfying dessert concepts in all of Cinco de Mayo baking. Our Baklava Pistachio Cheesecake makes a wonderfully indulgent and elegantly layered companion for a complete and spectacular Cinco de Mayo celebration dessert spread alongside these churro cheesecake bars.
Ingredients Needed for This Churro Cheesecake Recipe
For the Cinnamon Sugar:
- 1 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar
For the Churro Cheesecake Bars:
- Two 8-oz packages Refrigerated Crescent Roll Dough or Crescent Roll Sheets
- 16 oz Full-Fat Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 large Egg
- 1½ tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 3 tbsp Unsalted Butter, melted and slightly cooled
Optional Toppings for Serving:
- Dulce de Leche or Salted Caramel Sauce
- Chocolate Sauce
- Honey
- Fresh Strawberries
How to Make This Churro Cheesecake Recipe
Begin by making the cinnamon sugar. Combine the tablespoon of ground cinnamon and half cup of granulated sugar in a small bowl and stir until evenly combined. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack positioned in the middle of the oven. Grease a 9 by 13-inch baking pan and sprinkle 1 to 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon sugar mixture across the bottom of the greased pan.
Open one 8-ounce tube of crescent roll dough. Unroll the dough onto a clean surface and press all the seams together firmly to form one single unified rectangular piece of dough. Place this rectangle into the bottom of the prepared pan. The dough should cover the entire bottom of the pan.
In a medium bowl, beat the room-temperature cream cheese with the granulated sugar, egg, and vanilla extract until completely smooth and well combined. The cream cheese must be genuinely at room temperature for this step. Cold cream cheese will not mix smoothly and will leave lumps in the filling that will not disappear during baking. Pour the smooth cream cheese mixture over the crescent dough crust and spread it into a perfectly even layer using a spatula, cara mia.
Open the second tube of crescent roll dough. Unroll and press all the seams together in the same way as the first piece. Carefully lay this second piece of dough over the cream cheese layer. It should cover the cream cheese filling completely. If the edges do not quite reach, gently stretch the dough to fit.
Pour the melted butter over the top of the second crescent dough layer and spread it into an even coating using the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar generously and evenly over the buttered top layer.
Bake for 26 to 30 minutes until the crescent dough on top has puffed and turned a beautiful golden brown all across the surface. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely to room temperature. Once completely cooled at room temperature, transfer the pan to the refrigerator and chill for at least 3 hours until the cheesecake filling is fully set and firm.
Once thoroughly chilled, cut into 16 squares using a sharp knife. Serve chilled with caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, or fresh strawberries alongside.
How to Serve This Churro Cheesecake Recipe
Serve these churro cheesecake bars cold from the refrigerator on a large white platter or directly from the pan for the most convenient Cinco de Mayo party serving format. The golden cinnamon sugar-crusted top looks completely beautiful and the clean square cuts reveal the distinct layer structure of each bar.
For an extra spectacular Cinco de Mayo presentation, drizzle a generous zigzag of dulce de leche over the entire platter of bars before serving and scatter a few fresh strawberry slices across the top for the most vibrant and festive color contrast against the golden cinnamon sugar crust. Our Heaven on Earth Cake makes a beautifully creamy and equally crowd-feeding companion for a complete and spectacular Cinco de Mayo fiesta dessert table.
How to Store This Churro Cheesecake Recipe
Store the cut bars covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The cream cheese filling requires refrigeration at all times. These bars actually taste even better on the second day after the flavors have had time to integrate and the cinnamon sugar topping has softened slightly into the buttery crescent dough for an even more cohesive and deeply cinnamon-flavored result.
For Cinco de Mayo party preparation, these bars can and should be made the day before the celebration. Bake, cool completely, refrigerate overnight, and cut and arrange on the serving platter the morning of the celebration for the most effortless and completely beautiful Cinco de Mayo dessert preparation imaginable.
Tips to Make This Churro Cheesecake Recipe
Allow the cream cheese to come to a genuine room temperature before making the filling. This is the most important preparation detail in this recipe and the one most easily overlooked in the rush of Cinco de Mayo party preparation. Cold cream cheese beaten with sugar does not fully smooth out and leaves small dense cream cheese lumps in the filling that persist through baking and produce an uneven and slightly grainy texture. Allow the cream cheese to sit at room temperature for at least an hour before beginning.
Press all the seams of the crescent roll dough firmly together before placing in the pan. The perforated seam lines between the individual crescent roll sections must be completely sealed or they will separate during baking and produce gaps and uneven sections in both the bottom crust and the top layer that make slicing and serving the bars more difficult.
Helpful Notes for This Churro Cheesecake Recipe
Crescent roll sheets rather than the perforated crescent roll dough are the most convenient choice for this recipe because they have no seams to press together and produce the most uniform and even crust and top layers. Both versions are available in most supermarkets in the refrigerated dough section. Crescent roll sheets are simply the same dough without the perforations that create the triangular crescent shapes.
The 3-hour minimum chilling time before cutting is mandatory for clean and beautiful bar cuts. The cream cheese filling needs this time to firm from a pourable custard into a properly set cheesecake texture. Bars cut before the filling is fully set will be messy and the layers will slide rather than holding cleanly in each square. Overnight refrigeration produces the cleanest and most beautifully distinct layers.
Variation of This Churro Cheesecake Recipe
Maria made a version adding a layer of dulce de leche spread over the cream cheese filling before laying the second crescent dough sheet on top for a caramel churro cheesecake bar with a hidden and completely extraordinary caramel layer that made every bite taste like the most deeply indulgent Cinco de Mayo dessert she had ever made. Teresa tried adding a pinch of cayenne pepper to the cinnamon sugar topping for a spicy churro cheesecake bar that was deeply sophisticated and completely appropriate for a grown-up Cinco de Mayo celebration.
For a chocolate churro cheesecake version, add a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder to the cream cheese filling alongside the sugar for a lightly chocolate-flavored cheesecake center that pairs extraordinarily well with the cinnamon sugar topping. Our White Chocolate Mousse Tart makes a beautifully elegant and creamy companion for a complete and varied Cinco de Mayo fiesta dessert spread.
FAQs About This Churro Cheesecake Recipe
Can I use crescent roll sheets instead of the perforated crescent roll tubes?
Yes and in fact crescent roll sheets are the preferred option for this recipe because they have no seams to press together and produce the most even and uniform crust and top layers. Use two 8-ounce packages of crescent roll sheets in exactly the same way as the perforated tubes.
Do these bars need to be refrigerated?
Yes. The cream cheese filling requires refrigeration at all times because it contains dairy. Store in the refrigerator from the moment the bars have cooled and serve cold directly from the refrigerator. The bars will soften if left at room temperature for extended periods and the filling may become too soft to hold a clean slice.
Can I make these churro cheesecake bars for Cinco de Mayo the day before?
Absolutely yes and making them the day before is actually the most recommended approach. Bake, cool completely at room temperature, then refrigerate overnight. The overnight chilling produces the most cleanly set filling, the cleanest cuts, and allows all the flavors to integrate into the most cohesive and deeply delicious result. Cut and serve the morning of Cinco de Mayo.
Conclusion
These Churro Cheesecake Bars are the Cinco de Mayo dessert that requires the least time and produces the most completely extraordinary and crowd-pleasing result of any churro dessert we have ever brought to a celebration table. Flaky, creamy, cinnamon-sweet, and completely brilliant in their simplicity. We hope they become the most beloved and most requested recipe in your Cinco de Mayo dessert repertoire as completely and quickly as they have in ours. Make them, share them, and come back to tell us all about it. With all our love, Maria, Lucia, and Teresa.
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Churro Cheesecake The Most Easy and Irresistible Bars Perfect for Cinco de Mayo
- Total Time: 3 hours 49 minutes including chilling
- Yield: 16 bars 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
The most easy and irresistible Churro Cheesecake Bars made with a flaky buttery crescent roll crust filled with smooth sweetened cream cheese and topped with more crescent dough melted butter and a generous cinnamon sugar coating. A completely brilliant 7-ingredient Cinco de Mayo churro dessert bar that serves 16 from one pan.
Ingredients
1 tbsp Ground Cinnamon for cinnamon sugar
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar for cinnamon sugar
Two 8-oz packages Refrigerated Crescent Roll Dough or Sheets
16 oz Full-Fat Cream Cheese softened to room temperature
3/4 cup Granulated Sugar for filling
1 large Egg
1 1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
3 tbsp Unsalted Butter melted and slightly cooled
Optional: Dulce de Leche Caramel Chocolate Sauce or Fresh Strawberries for serving
Instructions
1. Mix cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan. Sprinkle 1 to 2 tbsp cinnamon sugar in the bottom.
3. Open one crescent dough tube. Unroll and press all seams together to form one rectangle. Place in bottom of pan.
4. Beat softened cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla until completely smooth.
5. Pour cream cheese mixture over crust and spread into an even layer.
6. Open second crescent dough tube. Unroll and press seams together. Lay over cream cheese layer completely.
7. Pour melted butter over the top and spread evenly.
8. Sprinkle remaining cinnamon sugar generously over buttered top.
9. Bake 26 to 30 minutes until top is puffed and golden brown.
10. Cool completely at room temperature on a wire rack.
11. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight until filling is fully set.
12. Cut into 16 squares and serve chilled with optional toppings.
- Prep Time: 21 minutes
- Cook Time: 28 minutes
- Category: Dessert, Bars, Cheesecake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Mexican American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 284
- Sugar: 20g
- Sodium: 315mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 29g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 45mg
Keywords: churro cheesecake, churro cheesecake bars recipe, Cinco de Mayo churro cheesecake, easy crescent roll cheesecake bars
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