Apple Cheesecake Bars

Apple Crumble Cheesecake Bars featured image

5 from 3 votes

Apple Cheesecake Bars are filled with layers of apple, cheesecake, and crumble coating all sitting on a shortbread base. Rich and creamy, sweet and tangy, buttery tender bites in every forkful.

Prep Time20

Cook Time1 15

Chill Time8

Total Time9 35

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 337kcal

Author: Jennifer Fishkind

Ingredients

Crust

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter slightly melted (about 40 seconds in microwave)
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt

Cheesecake Layer:

16 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
2 large eggs room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar

Apple Layer:

2 large granny smith apples peeled, cored and chopped (about 2 ½ cups chopped apple)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Crumble:

1 cup light brown sugar packed
¾ cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsalted butter slightly melted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

Crust:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Grease an 8” x 8” baking pan with non-stick cooking spray then line with parchment paper (leaving the edges slightly higher than the pan will help to lift the cheesecake out after cooling) then spray parchment paper with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat together flour, butter, sugar and salt just until mixture comes together and there is no longer dry flour.
Press crust evenly into bottom of the prepared baking pan. The dough may be sticky and hard to spread – spray a spatula lightly with non-stick cooking spray to help spread the dough out evenly.
Place crust in oven and bake for 20 minutes. The edges will be very slightly browned when done baking. If crust has started to bubble up a bit, poke a few holes in it with a fork to release the extra air.
Let cool on top of oven for 20 minutes before filling with cheesecake layer.

Cheesecake:

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth (about 1 to 2 minutes). This is an important step before adding the other ingredients or you will end up with a chunky cheesecake.
Beat in eggs and sugar just until well combined.
Pour cheesecake layer over cooled crust.

Apple Layer:

In a medium bowl, stir together chopped apples, sugar and cinnamon. Apple pieces should be smaller than bite-sized but larger than diced.
Sprinkle apple mixture evenly over raw cheesecake layer.

Crumble:

In a medium bowl, beat together brown sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon until it’s a crumbled mixture. If it’s not coming together into crumble, use clean hands to mix ingredients together until it’s an evenly crumbled mixture.
Sprinkle evenly over the unbaked apple layer.
Place in oven and bake 55 to 60 minutes until the middle of the cheesecake is no longer jiggling. The middle of the cheesecake should no longer look really sunken in.
Let cool at room temperature for an hour before covering with plastic food wrap and placing in fridge to cool for at least 7 hours or overnight. Letting is set overnight is best – if you can wait that long before digging in!
Once cooled completely, cut into 16 bars. Store leftovers in the fridge (in a sealed food storage container) for up to 4 days.

Notes

Storage:

To Store: Store leftovers in the fridge (in a sealed food storage container) for up to 4 days.
To Freeze: If sealed properly in a food storage container or wrapped tightly in food-safe plastic wrap, these cheesecake bars can be frozen for up to 2 months. Let thaw in fridge before serving.

Tips:

To bring cold cream cheese from the fridge to room temperature, let the cream cheese sit on kitchen counter for 1 to 2 hours (no longer than 2 hours before using it in baking).
To bring cold eggs from the fridge to room temperature, let sit on kitchen counter for 1 hour (no longer than 2 hours).
When lining your pan with parchment paper, I recommend leaving the edges slightly higher than the pan to help lift the cheesecake out after cooling.

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