Seriously good sopapilla cheesecake bars made without the typical crescent roll dough! We're making these with puff pastry instead so they are 1000x better than the original!
28 ounce bricks of cream cheese (see notes), room temp
1 ¼cupsgranulated sugardivided
¼cupsour creamroom temp
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
1eggroom temperature
1tablespoonground cinnamon
4tablespoonssalted buttermelted (see notes)
Instructions
Positon a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400ºF. Spray a 9x13 dish with cooking spray. Use the first sheet of puff pastry and lay it flat into the baking dish. Do not trim the extra dough as the puff pastry will shrink a bit in the oven. Pay extra attention to the side and just gently press it against the sides of the dish. Use a fork to poke holes all over the puff pastry dough. You don't want it to puff up in the oven. Bake the crust for 15 minutes.
While the crust is baking, prepare the cheesecake mix. Beat the cream cheese and 1 cup of sugar for 2 minutes. Add the egg, sour cream, and vanilla and mix until *just* combined, I'd say in the ballpark of 5-10 seconds.
Remove the crust from the oven. If it has puffed up, let it sit for 5 minutes and it will deflate. Spread the prepared cheesecake mix onto crust. Top with the second puff pastry sheet and gently tuck in or crimp the sides.
Combine remaining ¼ cup of sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Brush half the melted butter onto the puff pastry sheet with a pastry brush and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Drizzle the remaining butter over the top. You don't have to be too precise. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top puff pastry sheet cooks all the way through. Don't worry if the crust puffed up, it'll release the steam as it cools, or you can just use a paring knife to poke a small hole so the steam escapes.
Let cool for 20 minutes as room temperature. Then cool completely in the refrigerator for several hours before serving. I usually make these 1 day ahead so they have a chance to set. Slice into bars using a clean knife, be sure to clean your knife with each cut so the bars have nice clean cuts.
Notes
Just add a pinch of salt into your butter if it's unsalted.
I don't suggest using low fat or fat free cream cheese for this recipe.