Instructions

Swirling Caramel into the Cheesecake Bars

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.  Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.  Line the dish with foil (leaving some foil to hand over the edges of pan), spray the foil with cooking spray and set aside.

Making the Crust:  In a food processor, combine graham crackers and sugar.  Pulse until you have a nice fine cracker dust.  Add the melted butter and pulse until it is nice and crumbly.  Transfer the cracker mixture to your casserole dish.  Spread out evenly and gently press the crust into the pan.   Bake for 5 minutes.  Remove from oven, set aside to cool.

Making the filling:  In a small bowl, combine the flour and sugar.  Whisk to combine and set aside.
In a mixer, add the cream cheese and pour the flour mixture on top.  Using the whisk attachment mix until nice and smooth.  Add the eggs, 1 at a time and whisk until incorporated.  Add the vanilla, sour cream and heavy cream.  Whisk until nicely combined and you have a smooth batter.  Pour the filing on top of the crust and set aside so you can make your caramel sauce.

Salted Caramel Cheesecake Bars

Caramel Sauce:  On the stove, place a small pot over medium heat.  Melt the 2 sticks of butter then add the brown sugar and salt.  Whisk to combine the butter & sugar.  When it starts to bubble turn heat down to a medium-low or low heat.  You want it to continue to gently bubble.  Whisk occasionally and cook until it starts to gets a bit thicker.  When placing a spoon into the caramel it should start to stick/coat the spoon.    Cool slightly then pour about 3/4 of the caramel sauce over top of the cheesecake.  Using a spoon drag it through the cheesecake to swirl the caramel sauce.  Reserve the remainder of the caramel for drizzling over top of the finished bars.

Bake for approx. 45-50 minutes.  If the bars start to crack they may be overcooking.  Be sure to check them often as it gets close to the end of the cooking time.  You can insert a knife into the center to see if it comes out clean.  Remove from oven, set aside to cool completely, about 1-2 hours.

Place the dish into the fridge to chill.  Chill for about 1-2 hours then remove from fridge.  Grabbing each side of the foil, gently pull the bars out of the pan.  If you sprayed your pan really good they will come right out.  I like to cut the outer edges off of my bars to ensure nice even bars.  Plus, everyone loves to nibble on the scrap pieces! Using a large kitchen knife, cut the bars into long strips and then into squares.  Using a spoon, drizzle with some extra caramel sauce.  I also sprinkled a little kosher salt on top of each bar.  Place them onto a platter and serve.

Mangia! Enjoy!