Y’all! Can I let you in on a little secret? I made a discovery today. A delicious discovery. A seriously drool-worthy discovery. Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars. Oh. My. YUM! Have you had it? If not, you need to… It’s amazing. Truly AH.MAZ.ING!

My husband had to go out of town on a business trip, which he sometimes does. When he has to travel, I always try to make the time that he’s gone from us, fun, or special for my daughter and I. We do different things… picnics, hiking, pedicures, special dinners (or desserts), sleepovers, and always chick flicks. Well, today we were having a couple friends over (another mother & daughter ~ fun for her, fun for me) to hang out and watch movies. I thought it would be nice to have a special dessert for us all, so I did what any normal woman in my situation would do. I carefully scoured and researched recipe books went to Pinterest!

Ahhh… Pinterest… that magical place that you can find anything from the comfort of your recliner. Or wherever. To be honest,  I didn’t have anything special in mind, just something desserty. A sweet treat for a fun time with friends. I didn’t want anything “normal” like cookies, cake, cupcakes, etc. I really wasn’t interested in chocolate. And it had to be quick and easy. It didn’t take long until I found something that looked good… yep, you guessed it… Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars. They looked good, were easy, and just the right amount of sweet.

 

To be thorough, I did check out a couple of recipes to compare, but they mostly seemed pretty similar. Fortunately, I had everything on hand, so I decided to go for it. Boy, am I glad that I did! We all loved it! It really was pretty easy to make. In fact, that hardest part was to let it cool thoroughly before serving (did I mention how wonderful it smelled?).

This recipe will now be added to the lineup, because… YUM!

 

Ingredients:

2 packages refrigerated crescent rolls

2 (8 oz) packages of (regular, full fat) cream cheese blocks, softened to room temperature

1 cup white sugar

1 large egg

1 ½ Tbsp vanilla extract

1 stick (½ cup) of butter, melted

¾ cup cinnamon sugar (¾ cup sugar mixed with 1 Tbsp cinnamon)

 

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F) and set baking rack in the center. Generously grease a 13×9” baking pan with cooking spray or butter.
• Unroll one can of crescent rolls and lay it in a single layer on the bottom of the baking dish. Stretch to fit the bottom of the pan, and pinch together any seams to seal. Set aside.
• Using an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, white sugar, vanilla, and egg, until well combined. Use a rubber spatula to spread the mixture evenly over the top of the first crescent roll layer.
• Unroll the second can of crescent rolls and lay it on a cutting board or silicone baking mat, stretching it to fit well on top of the cheesecake filling layer. Once again, be sure to pinch the seams together to seal. Pick up the dough and carefully lay it over the filling, covering it completely.
• Melt the butter and pour it over the top, covering the dough entirely. Evenly sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top.
• Bake for about 30 minutes, until the dough is baked through and the cinnamon sugar has formed a crust on top of the dough.
• Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars. These are great make-ahead treats since they do have to cool. Be sure to store any leftovers (if there are any!) in an airtight container in the refrigerator.