Caramel Apple Cheesecake Cookie Bars

By á-4748

It all starts with a lovely cookie-like layer on the bottom, then it continues with a creamy and delicious cream cheese filling with chunks of delicious cinnamon apple scattered here and there, then there’s a crumbly and crunchy topping, and finally – a good portion of luscious caramel on top.

Ingredients

• DOUGH:
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• CREAM CHEESE FILLING:
• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• APPLE FILLING:
• 2 larger apples (Golden Delicious)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoon granulated white sugar
• CRUMB TOPPING:
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• TOPPING:
• 3/4 cup sundae caramel topping

Details

Servings 16
Preparation time 15mins
Cooking time 60mins
Adapted from zoomyummy.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Dough:

In a bowl, combine the flour and brown sugar. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender (or a fork) until the mixture is 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.

Cream Cheese Filling:

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar until smooth (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time (beat about 20 seconds after each addition). Next add the vanilla and mix until combined.

Pour the cream cheese batter over the warm crust.

Apple filling:

Peel the apples and chop them into 3/4-inch (2 cm) chunks. Mix the apple chunks with the cinnamon and two tablespoons white sugar.
Spoon the apple chunks evenly over the cream cheese mixture.

Crumb Topping:

In a small bowl, combine the flour, oats, and brown sugar for crumb topping. Cube the butter and using a pastry blender (or a fork), create a crumbly mixture.
Crumble over the cream cheese and apple mixture.

Bake 30 minutes, or until the filling is set. Reduce the temperature to 300 °F (150 °C) for the last 5 minutes.

Cut into bars and drizzle with the caramel topping.