Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping

Crumb crust created from all-purpose flour, brown sugar, and butter. Crust mixture is pressed onto bottom of shallow baking pan. Filling is prepared from cream cheese, egg, and vanilla extract. Filling is topped with apple, cinnamon and sugar mixture, sprinkled with streusel topping and drizzled with ready-made caramel glaze.

Ingredients -
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup firmly packed Brown Sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) Butter, softened
2 (8 ounces) packages Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup Sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided
2 large Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground Nutmeg
Streusel Topping, (recipe below)
1/2 cup Caramel Topping

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
 
Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly.

3. Press evenly into a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil.

4. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

5. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth.

6. Then add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla.

7. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust.

8. In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

9. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture.

10. Sprinkle evenly with Streusel topping. Bake 30 minutes, or until filling is set.

11. Drizzle with caramel topping.

Streusel Topping:

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients.

 



Cheesecake Making Tips -
Springform Pan

Lightly buttering the inside of the springform pan will keep the cheesecake from sticking while baking. After removing the cheesecake from the oven, run a metal spatula along the sides of the cake along the inside of the pan to loosen and keep the cake from sticking as it cools down.


Cheesecake Making Tips -
All-Purpose Flour


A blend of high gluten and low gluten flours, all-purpose flour with a protein content of 10.5-13% is considered medium strength flour. Available in two types, bleached and unbleached, all-purpose flour is readily available in most supermarkets.