The weather may be warm, but my mind has leaped ahead to Fall. I've been suffering from mad cravings to bake with pumpkins, but since they aren't available, I'm making due with other fall style deserts for now. Figured apples would be a good start, especially when paired with caramel. However, I decided to up the complexity a little and combine caramel apples with cheesecake! The result: caramel apple cheesecake bars.
These take a little bit of time to make, but they are by no means difficult to do. So if you love cheesecake and caramel apples, give this recipe a try!
Start off making the crust. Combine 2 cups of flour and 1/2 cup of brown sugar in a medium bowl
Cut in 1 cup of butter (2 sticks)
Blend with a fork until the mixture looks all crumbly :) Preheat the oven to 350*
Press the mixture evenly into a 9x13 baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned, like this! Set it aside to cool
Now start the cheesecake portion! In a large bowl, beat 3 packages of cream cheese with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth
Add in 1 1/3 cup sugar and mix again. Then add a pinch of salt and 2 tsp vanilla
Now mix in 4 eggs
And 2/3 cup sour cream
Lastly, blend in 2/3 cup heavy cream. Yummm
Now pour your delicious cheesecake batter on top of the crust
Smooth it out all pretty-like and set aside
Now make your apple mixture! Dice 3 apples (I used two green and 1 random red). A food chopper makes this part easy. Mix them in a medium bowl with 2 tbs brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 2 tsp apple pie spice. Make your own apple pie spice if you want--I just happened to have some on hand that I'm trying to use up
This is what will make your cheesecake healthy ;)
Now pour the apple mixture evenly over the cheesecake batter.
If you do this carefully, the apples won't sink
Now make your pecan streusel topping! Mix 3/4 cup flour and 2/3 cup chopped pecans
Then blend in 1/4 cup brown sugar and 6 tbs butter, softened
It should look like this
Sprinkle the streusel all over the apples, then throw your pan in the oven at 350* for about 40 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 325 and cook another 25-30 minutes. When the cheesecake is slightly jiggly in the middle, it is done!
Ta-daa! Let your cheesecake cool for a few hours in the fridge and then cut into bars
Now for the caramel topping--it's quick to do and "makes" the recipe. Put 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 4 tbs butter, and 3 tbs corn syrup in a medium pot. Simmer on medium heat until a candy thermometer reads right below the soft ball stage. If you want your caramel less firm and more like ice cream caramel syrup, just simmer the mixture for about 6-7 minutes and it should be good to go!
Cut up the cheesecake into bars, then pour the caramel on. Or pour it on before you cut the bars, but I personally like having dripping caramel down the sides of each bar ;)
...I took a lot of pictures of the caramel pouring stage, obviously
Happy almost-Fall!!
Carmel Apple Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients:
Crust:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
Cheesecake:
3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt
4 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
2/3 cup heavy cream
Apple mixture:
3 apples, diced (I used 2 green and 1 red)
2 tbs brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp apple pie spice
Pecan streusel topping:
3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup brown sugar
6 tbs butter, softened
Caramel sauce:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 tbs butter
3 tbs corn syrup
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350*
2) In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a fork until mixture is crumbly. Line a 9x9 baking pan with tin foil, oil it, and press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake about 15 minutes until it is lightly browned.
3) In another bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixture until smooth. Add in sugar and mix again. Then add salt, vanilla, and eggs. Mix well, then add sour cream and heavy cream, one at a time. Once the mixture is smooth, pour over the warm crust.
4) In a small bowl, stir together diced apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and apple pie spice. Once incorporated, spoon evenly over cream cheesecake mixture.
5) For the pecan streusel topping, combine flour and pecans in another bowl. Then add in sugar and butter and mix until there are coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the topping over the apples and bake at 350* for about 40 minutes, then reduce temperature to 325* and bake another 25-30 minutes, until the cheesecake is slightly jiggly in the middle. Let cool for a few hours, then slice into bars.
6) For the caramel topping, put 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 4 tbs butter, and 3 tbs corn syrup in a medium pot. Simmer on medium heat until a candy thermometer reads right below the soft ball stage. Then pour over your bars and enjoy!!!
