Cinnamon-Cream Cheese Breakfast Bars

Ingredients

  • For the Cinnamon Filling
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Pinch of kosher salt
  • For the Cream Cheese Bars
  • 2 cans refrigerated crescent rolls
  • 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese or Neufchatel, softened
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Additional sugar, for topping

Preparation

Step 1

For the Cinnamon Filling
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add brown sugar and cook until sugar and butter are well combined, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Whisk in egg, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

For the Cream Cheese Bars
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Roll out 1 can of crescent roll dough into the bottom of the casserole dish to form a crust, making sure to press seams together.

With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, egg, sugar, and vanilla until well combined. Spread the filling evenly over the crust with a rubber spatula. Pour the cinnamon filling over the cream cheese mixture and spread out evenly (I used a silicone pastry brush).

Roll out remaining can of crescent roll dough onto large sheet of wax paper. Pat out dough to form a 9 x 13 inch rectangle, carefully pressing the seams together to seal. Gently flip the wax paper/dough over the cinnamon cream cheese filling to form a top crust.

Bake for 30 minutes until top crust is golden. Remove from the oven and dust with additional sugar. Cut into 2-inch squares, or smaller if feeding a crowd. Serve warm or at room temperature. Recipe can be made the day before and cooked before serving OR freeze cooked bars and thaw before eating (if serving at room temperature).