Caramel Apple Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars

By srumbel

The ingredient list is a little long, but don’t let that scare you away! All you have to do is mix up some cookie dough, press half of it in a pan and reserve the other half for a buttery, cookie crumble topping. Next, mix up all of the ingredients for the filling and pour it over some chopped caramels and the cookie dough. Drop the remaining cookie dough on top and bake! See? Simple! The hardest part is waiting for the bars to cool. You’ll want to eat them right away, but trust me, the waiting is worth it for all of the flavors to blend!
from a-kitchen-addiction.com

Ingredients

• For the Cookie Layers
• 3/4 C butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 C sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 3 3/4 C all-purpose flour
• 2 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• For the Cheesecake Layer
• 16 oz 1/3 of the fat cream cheese
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• 1 1/2 C chopped apples
• 3/4 C chopped soft caramels or caramel bits

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add in eggs and vanilla extract and beat until creamy.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and beat until combined. Dough will appear dry but will hold together when pressed. Set aside.
Prepare cheesecake layer by beating together cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice together until creamy. Stir in chopped apples.
Press half of cookie dough into the bottom of prepared baking dish. Top with chopped caramels. Pour cheesecake mixture over the top. Drop remaining cookie dough over the top.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until edges turn light golden brown and center is set.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving to allow flavors to blend.