This recipe is mind blowing – all the flavors of an apple pie plus the flavor of cheesecake AND cobbler!! If you’re shy about using butter this recipe is not for you. Fortunately we love butter and buy it in bulk!! Everyone who tries these bars goes on and on! You may not want them laying around the house to snack on all day, but they are perfect to take to potlucks and parties. Oh and a word about butter…..most recipes call for unsalted but we like salted – is that bad?
Here we go:
Crust
2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups butter
Cream cheese filling:
(2) 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, soft
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Apple Pie Filling
5 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, chopped
1/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoon apple pie spice (see recipe below)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
Oatmeal Crumb Topping
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup oats (I used quick)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans optional
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray or line a 9″x 13″ glass baking dish
- For crust, stir together flour, brown sugar and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press into bottom of dish.
- Bake until lightly browned, 15 minutes. Cool slightly.
- For Cream Cheese Filling, in a separate bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar at medium speed until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in lemon zest, juice and vanilla. Spread over crust.
- For apple pie filling, in yet another bowl, stir together apples, sugar, apple pie spice, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla. Spoon over cream cheese layer.
- For Oatmeal topping, in a new bowl, stir together brown sugar, flour, oats, pecans, and salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over apple layer.
- Bake for 30 – 35 minutes, or until set. Let cool. Keep covered and in the refrigerator.
Apple Pie Spice
4 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
Combine spices and store in a small jar. Use in every apple pie recipe 🙂