Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Crumble Topping

Stack of The best apple cheesecake bars with streusel crisp on top

5 from 10 votes

Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Crumble Topping

This easy Apple cheesecake bars recipe has a layer of shortbread cookie, cheesecake, cinnamon apples, and oat streusel! It's so good!

Prep Time25

Cook Time1 20

Total Time1 45

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Ingredients

For the Streusel Topping:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter cubed, cold.

For the Cheesecake Filling:

12 oz cream cheese 1 & 1/2 package full fat cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoon heavy cream
1 & 1/2 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Apple Layer:

2 cups peeled cored, and diced apples (about 2 medium-sized apples)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

For the Crust:

1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup butter = 1 stick butter, softened

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the streusel

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease and line an 8x8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang on two sides for easy removal.
In a bowl mix the cubed cold butter, brown sugar, salt, flour, oats, and cinnamon. Use either your hands or a pastry cutter. Once the mixture is combined well and has small clumps, set aside in the fridge for later.
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup oats, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup butter

Make the crust

In a medium bowl cream the flour, both sugars, vanilla extract, and salt together until soft cookie dough forms.
1 cup all purpose flour, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Spread the cookie dough on an 8x8-inch pan lined with parchment paper. Press to form an even layer. Bake in the oven for 13 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 325°F.

Make the cheesecake filling

In a separate bowl, prepare the cream cheese filling. Beat the softened cream cheese, heavy cream, granulated sugar, flour, and vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste until smooth and well combined. Mix in the egg.
12 oz cream cheese, 3 tablespoon heavy cream, 1 & 1/2 tablespoon flour, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Spread the cream cheese filling evenly over the warm sugar cookie crust.

Make the apple mixture

In a small bowl, toss the diced apples with ground cinnamon and 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar, and lemon juice. Spread the apple mixture evenly over the cream cheese layer.
2 cups peeled, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Sprinkle the prepared streusel topping over the apples, covering them evenly.
Place the baking pan in the preheated oven and bake 60-70 minutes, until edges are golden and the center is just barely set (see doneness cue)
Remove the apple cheesecake bars from the oven and let them cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Once cooled, refrigerate the bars for at least 2 hours to allow them to set and chill.
Once chilled, use the parchment paper overhangs to lift the bars out of the pan. Place them on a cutting board and slice into squares. Enjoy as is or with a caramel drizzle on top.

Notes

For a 9x13 pan, double all ingredients and bake 70-85 minutes. For caramel apple cheesecake bars, drizzle with caramel before serving.

Note on the apples: Heads up that the apples in these bars stay a little crunchy, with a bit of bite to them. That's totally on purpose! I love the contrast of the crunchy apples against the soft cheesecake, the buttery streusel, and that crisp shortbread crust. It's such a fun mix of textures. But if that's not your thing, just sauté the apple mixture in a pan with 1 to 2 tablespoons of butter until the apples soften first, then layer them on. They'll cook down into more of an apple pie filling situation, and it's delicious that way too!

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