Apple is one of the main flavors of the season, but I feel like I’ve tapped out a lot of the low-hanging fruit (pardon the pun) when it comes to baking. So, I’ve been getting into more off-beat versions of desserts recently, and this one was really successful.
The composition of these apple crumble cheesecake bars is super easy. The cheesecake filling itself is mostly cream cheese with some extras to enhance it. The crust AND the topping are both the same thing, just divided with half of it pressed down to form the crust. There are apples diced and spiced throughout for a bit of texture and flavor.
The best part is, you can turn it into caramel apple bars with a drizzle of the salted caramel syrup I made last week. It works incredibly well, in my humble opinion.
One of the ingredients my recipe calls for is pie spice mix. This is a pumpkin spice mix I keep on hand and often use in the place of just cinnamon. I find it gives a lot of autumn recipes an added depth without changing the character of the finished product substantially. You can just use extra cinnamon if you don’t want to mix up a batch, but I highly recommend keeping some on hand.
Apple Crumble Cheesecake Bars
Equipment
- 9×9" Baking Dish
- Parchment Paper
- Mixing Bowls
- Rubber Spatula
- Stand Mixer Optional but recommended
Ingredients
Crust and Crumble
- 1½ Cups Flour
- ½ Cup Butter Melted
- ⅓ Cup White Sugar
- ⅓ Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Tsp Cinnamon
- 1 Tsp Pie Spice Mix See post for link to my mix
Spiced Apples
- 1 Apple Peeled, cored, and diced small
- 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- 2 Tsp Cinnamon
Cheesecake Filling
- 10 Oz. Cream Cheese Softened
- ¼ Cup Sour Cream Room temperature
- ¾ Cup White Sugar
- 2 Eggs Room temperature
- 1 Tbsp Vanilla Yes, a whole tablespoon
- ¼ Tsp Salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325℉. Grease your baking dish and line it with parchment paper for easy bar removal later.
- Prepare the apple by dicing it into small bits. Mix the apple with the cinnamon and brown sugar, and set it aside.1 Apple, 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar, 2 Tsp Cinnamon
- Make the crust. Combine the melted butter, sugar, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and pie spice mix. It will combine to form something like wet sand.1½ Cups Flour, ½ Cup Butter, ⅓ Cup White Sugar, ⅓ Cup Brown Sugar, 1 Tsp Cinnamon, 1 Tsp Pie Spice Mix
- Take half of the crust mix and press it firmly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish to form the crust. Reserve the other half for topping.
- In your stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese, sour cream, and sugar until it's all combined.10 Oz. Cream Cheese, ¼ Cup Sour Cream, ¾ Cup White Sugar
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in the eggs, vanilla, and salt, and beat until smooth.2 Eggs, 1 Tbsp Vanilla, ¼ Tsp Salt
- Pour the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish over the crust and smooth it out. Spread the diced apples evenly over the top, then spread the remaining crumble mix on top of that.
- Bake in the oven for 38 minutes. Then, turn the oven off and open the door just a crack. You want to cool it slowly so the cheesecake mix doesn't crack and collapse. After half an hour of cooling in the oven, you can transfer the pan to the fridge for a few hours for it to fully set.
- Once cooled, slice, top with caramel sauce, and serve!