Southwestern Cheese Cake Dessert

By RossanaV

This sinfully simple dessert might remind you of sopapillas, which are a kind of yummy fried pastry you'll find served in New Mexico and parts of South America. This recipe is baked in a pan instead of fried.

Ingredients

• 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups white sugar, divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 (8-ounce) cans crescent roll dough
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds

Details

Servings 12
Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 65mins

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 F. Place cream cheese, 1 1/2 cups sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl. Beat until smooth. Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough. Use a rolling pin to shape into two 9" x 13" rectangles, creating one rectangle from each of the cans of dough. Press one piece into the bottom of a greased 9" x 13" baking dish. Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly into the baking dish. Cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough.

Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Stir the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar together with the cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle over the cheesecake along with the almonds. Bake until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 45 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before cutting. Serves: 12.