Carmel Apple Cheesecake Bites

This is the dessert I made at Thanksgiving that I thought was excellent from "The Girl Who Ate Everything" blog.

Ingredients

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

Cheesecake Filling:
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
¾ cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided
3 large eggs
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Apples:
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Streusel Topping:
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup quick cooking oats
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

Drizzle:
½ cup caramel topping for drizzling after baked (see note below_

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender (or 2 forks) until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 9x13 baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with ¾ cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust.
In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture.
For the streusel topping: In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. I like to really combine it by using my clean hands to thoroughly combine the butter into the mixture.
Sprinkle Streusel topping over apples. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping and let cool. Serve cold and enjoy! Make 16 servings.

Read more at http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/09/caramel-apple-cheesecake-bars.html#OgSkcLsl9MrqoDeJ.99

****NOTE: for the caramel sauce I used the following recipe from www.carlsbadcravings.com:

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-2 - 3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS
Add butter, brown sugar, water, and salt to medium saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring until butter melts.
Bring to boil for 5 minutes (it will bubble a lot!), stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup evaporated milk and vanilla. Add additional evaporated milk to reach desired consistency.

NOTES
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 5-7 days.

This caramel reheats beautifully in the microwave or stovetop.

You can also freeze the sauce for up to 3 months. Just make sure to use an airtight container that's NOT glass because the milk expands when frozen and can rupture the glass. Defrost the sauce overnight in the fridge and warm gently before using.

Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake***

Crust:
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 cup finely chopped almonds
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
3/4 cup finely chopped vanilla wafers
2 Tbs melted butter
9" spring pan coat with butter

Mix all nuts and vanilla wafers with melted butter and press into the buttered spring pan. Try to line the sides about 1 ½” up the sides.

Filling:
1 ½ lb cream cheese
1 1/3 cup sugar
5 large eggs
16 oz sour cream
1/4 cup flour
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp lemon juice

All above ingredients should be at room temp before you begin.

Start by beating the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Keep the mixer on a low setting throughout mixing. Add the sugar and one egg at a time beat after each egg. When the eggs have been mixed into the cream cheese add flour, vanilla and lemon juice. Mix well. Add the sour cream and mix.

Pour cream cheese mixture into spring pan. Place on the top rack in the middle of a 325 preheated oven for one hour and 15 min. When the time is up prop open the oven door and leave in the oven for one hour. After one hour remove from oven and let cool completely. Refrigerate for 24 hours before topping and serving. Top with berries or caramel and nuts.

Caramel Fudge Cheesecake

1 package fudge brownie mix (8 inch square pan size)
1 package (14 oz) caramels
1/4 C evaporated milk
1 1/4 C coarsely chopped pecans
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
2 squares (1 ounce each) semisweet chocolate, melted
2 squares (1 oz each) unsweetened chocolate, melted

Prepare brownie batter according to the package directions. Spread into a greased 9 inch spring-form pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Meanwhile, in a microwave-safe bowl, melt caramels with milk. Pour over brownie crust; sprinkle with pecans. In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and sugar; mix well. Add eggs, beating on low speed just until combined. Stir in melted chocolate. Pour over pecans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool completely. Chill overnight. Remove sides of pan before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

I made this for the first time on Mother's Day 2008. It turned out really well, and was not as difficult as I feared. It was very rich and yummy, but you definitely need to like chocolate!