Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars



        Hmm.. where do I begin? How do I even start to describe how WONDERFUL and SINFULLY DELICIOUS these little guys are?!! When I tasted one last night after waiting for them to chill in the fridge, I devoured it in two seconds.. They are sooo good, and so different! I am a huge cheesecake fan and I love apple pie.. so the combination together I thought was such a genious idea!! When I saw this recipe I knew I had to make them as soon as possible!

        This recipe is from Paula Dean! She is on Food Network, as Im sure most of you know. She is just the cutest, funniest southern gal who makes awesome comfort food! I have made a bunch of her recipes. I totally fell inlove with this one! You have got to try it.. Trust me :)

CARAMEL APPLE CHEESECAKE BARS

CRUST:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup butter, softened

CHEESECAKE FILLING:

3 (8 OZ) packages of 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 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

STREUSEL TOPPING:

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 cup butter, softened

              Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9x13 inch glass baking dish with heavy duty tinfoil.

In a medium bowl combine your CRUST ingredients together with a pastry cutter or 2 forks ( Im no proffesional baker so I used 2 forks :)  until mixture turns crumbly. Press evenly into the baking dish. Bake crust for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

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

             In a small bowl, stir together the chopped apples, remaining 2 TBS sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over the cream cheese filling.  Then combine all your STREUSEL TOPPING ingredients into a small bowl mixing well, and then pour all of the streusel topping over the apples.

             Bake for 45 minutes in 350 degree oven, or until filling is set. Let cool for 1 hour on countertop, then chill for a few hours or overnight in the fridge! ENJOY :)