Apple Crumble Cheesecake Bars
Apple Crumble Cheesecake Bars! A layer of cheesecake is baked atop a brown sugar shortbread crust, and topped with a layer of spiced apples, caramel sauce and irresistible streusel topping in this decadent dessert!
Servings: 9 servings
Ingredients
For Crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks) softened
For Cheesecake Layer
- 16 ounces cream cheese (2 packages) softened
- ½ cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons, divided
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For Apple Layer
- 3 Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup caramel topping
For Streusel Topping
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup quick cooking oats
- ½ cup butter (1 stick) softened
Instructions
Make Crust
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a 13x9 inch baking pan by lining with parchment paper or foil lightly sprayed with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly.
- Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Make Cheesecake Filling
- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with ½ cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth.
- Add eggs, 1 at a time, until fully incorporated, then add vanilla extract.
- Pour over warm crust.
Streusel Topping
- In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, oats and butter until a crumbly/pebbly mixture is formed.
Make Apple Layer
- 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 for 30 minutes, or until the filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping.
- Refrigerate for 3-5 hours or overnight to enjoy cold, though I'm sure you it is quite enjoyable right out of the oven as well.
Notes
Variations:
- Add toasted, chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans to the crumble mixture for extra crunch and flavor.
- Make a graham cracker or gingersnap cookie crust instead of a shortbread cookie crust for different flavor.
- Use other warms spices such as cardamom or allspice for an extra cozy and flavorful bite.
- Gluten-Free: Use your favorite gluten-free one-to-one flour blend in place of all-purpose flour.
- Dairy-Free or Vegan: I have not personally used dairy-free or vegan ingredients for this recipe, so the amounts may have to be adjusted, but I do think plant based butter, egg replacer such as JustEgg and dairy-free cream cheese could be used in place of regular.