Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

My mom gave me the tip on this blog called, The Girl Who Ate Everything, because she told me a lot of this lady's fav. blogs were my favorite blogs so she figured we liked the same stuff. So, I checked it out, and she had a lot of recipes I have been wanting to try but have not got around to making yet. Among the list were these cheesecake bars. It is a Paula Deen recipe, oh how I love Paula Deen, and let me just say these were perfect for a festive fall treat! I will admit I am not a huge caramel apple fan, but having the flavors of a caramel apple combined with cheesecake, now I am a fan of that! We invited our neighbors over to try it with us and everyone was in agreement that these were wonderful! It made a huge pan so I am going to have to share some with my friends before I end up eating the whole thing myself! Make these now!

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

Cheesecake Filling:
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Apples:
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Streusel topping, recipe follows
1/2 cup caramel topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender (or 2 forks) until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 9x13 baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 3/4 cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust.

In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Streusel topping. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping and let cool. Serve cold and enjoy!

Streusel Topping:
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. I like to really combine it by using my clean hands to thoroughly combine the butter into the mixture.

Source: adapted from Paula Deen

Sopapilla Cheesecake

I got this recipe, again, from Barefoot and Baking blog, and it is yummy! She made hers for cinco de mayo which is a cute idea, but I just made it because I was in the mood. :) So make it anytime of year, it is great!

Ingredients:
2 blocks of cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cans of refrigerated crescent rolls
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 by 13 inch pan. Beat cream cheeses with 1 cup sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla until smooth. Open one can of crescents and unroll into the big rectangle. Lay the entire rectangle on the bottom of 9 by 13 pan. Spread cream cheese mixture on top. Unroll second crescent can and place whole rectangle on top of cream cheese layer.

Mix together 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/2 cup butter. Dot mixture on top of cheesecake, (I spread my all over top instead of dot). Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Serve warm with ice cream and drizzled honey over top of each piece.

Smores Bars

I got this recipe from my new favorite blog entitled, Barefoot and Baking. These bars are seriously so good! I made them tonight and Chris and I LOVE them. If you like smores, you will like these! Give them a try, you won't be disappointed.

Ingredients:
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup butter or margarine, melted
3 cups milk chocolate chips (18 oz)
4 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Directions
Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, stir together cookie mix and crumbs. Stir in melted butter until soft dough forms. Press into ungreased 13×9-inch pan.
Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until set. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Let stand 3 to 5 minutes or until chocolate begins to melt.
Spread chocolate evenly over crust.
Set oven control to broil. Sprinkle marshmallows over melted chocolate.
Broil with top 4 to 5 inches from heat 20 to 30 seconds or until marshmallows are toasted. (Watch closely; marshmallows will brown quickly.)
Cool 10 minutes. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Serve warm.
Store any remaining bars tightly covered.