Recipe: Cookie Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

This recipe is incredible and when I say incredible I mean I've already made it three times in the past two weeks, it's really just that good. I even made these once without eggs and they are still delicious, it you decide to skip the eggs as well make sure to replace them with a tablespoon of corn starch and a couple teaspoons of flour, just to thicken it up.

Ingredients: 

Cookie Part: 
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup softened butter

Cream Cheese Filling:
12 oz (1.5 bars) of cream cheese softened
1/2 cup pf white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

Apple Filling:
2 large apples
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbs white sugar

Crumb Top:
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup all purpose flour

Top it Off:
Caramel drizzle (as much or as little as you want)

Directions:


Preheat the oven to 350 °F.

In a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar snd butter until the mixture is somewhat crumbly.
Press the dough evenly into a 13 × 9-inch baking pan or a cookie sheet with edges. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a larger bowl, beat the cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, 1 at a time (beat after each addition). Next add the vanilla and mix until combined. Pour the cream cheese batter over the warm crust.

Peel the apples and chop them into 3/4-inch chunks. Mix the apple chunks with the cinnamon and white sugar. Spoon the apple chunks evenly over the cream cheese mixture.

In a smaller bowl, combine the flour, oats, butter and brown sugar for crumb topping. Sprinkle over the cream cheese mixture.

Bake 30 minutes, or until the filling is set. Reduce the temperature to 300°F for the last 5 minutes.

Last but not least drizzle with the caramel topping.

Enjoy!!!

Recipe: Cranberry Cheesecake Bars

After many recent experiments I have come to the conclusion that desserts are much better with cream cheese. It's funny to think that I use to despise cheesecake and thought cream cheese only belonged on bagels. Since this is my first post, I would like to present the recipe that made me fall in love with cream cheese desserts. I enthusiastically give you these cranberry cheesecake bars. 

Ingredients:

2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour

1-1/2 cups instant rolled oats

3/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar (divided use)

1 cup (2 sticks or 16 Tablespoons) butter, at room temperature

8 ounces (1 large block) cream cheese, at room temperature

1 can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (1 to 2 lemons)

1 can whole berry cranberry sauce

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with non-stick foil.

Combine flour, rolled oats, 3/4 cup brown sugar, and butter with a pastry blender, mixing until crumbly. Remove 1-1/2 cups of mixture and set aside for later use. Press remaining mixture into bottom of the prepared baking pan. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. 

In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice, whipping until completely combined. Pour evenly over warm bottom layer crust.

Scoop whole berry cranberry sauce into a bowl, stirring gently with a fork to break up the jelly. Add 1 tablespoon brown sugar and cornstarch. Mix until combined. Drop cranberry mixture by spoonful over the cream cheese layer. Gently smooth with the back of a spoon to cover. Sprinkle top with reserved crumb mixture.

Bake 45 minutes, until top is golden brown. Cool bar cookies completely before cutting. Refrigerate before serving. Makes about 24 bars, depending on how you cut them.

Enjoy!!!