When you make these bars, the words: diet, healthy, light, fat-free, should be forgotten from your vernacular. There is a hefty serving of cream cheese, and enough butter to last a week in these bars. BUT, with that being said, these are creamy, delicate, crunchy, and oh so sweet.

Churro cheesecake bars are the ultimate treat to eat for yourself, or if you’re willing, for a party. A delicacy to bring around for the holiday cheer. If you consumed the pan by yourself, you’ll probably give yourself diabetes; share the love, I mean that’s what the holidays are for, right?

When I made these for the first time, I had one bite and then half of the pan was gone by the time I regained consciousness. These are quite dense, but pair it with a glass of milk and it’ll all balance out. The crunch from the cookie crumble and the creamy consistency of the cheesecake creates a wondrous texture in a bite. If you wanted to make this as a cheesecake and not as bars, just pour the batter into a different vessel (springform pan rather a brownie pan) and there you have it. You can also forgo the crumble on top, but why would you?

ingredients: 

CINNAMON SUGAR
– 4 TBSP cinnamon
– 1 cup Sugar
COOKIE BASE
– 2 2/3 cups Flour
– 1 1/2 TSP baking powder
– 1 TSP cream of tartar
– 1 1/4 cup sugar
– 3/4 cup brown sugar
– 1 cup butter
– 2 eggs
– 1 TSP vanilla extract
CHEESECAKE
– 2 8oz packages of cream cheese
– 1 egg
– 1/2 cup sugar
– 1 TSP vanilla extract

the way:

COOKIE BASE
– preheat oven to 350/180 degrees
– in a small bowl, combine your sugar and cinnamon together and set aside. You’ll be coming back to this bowl over and over again throughout the makings. (if you run out, feel free to make more).
– in one bowl, mix the flour, powder, and cream of tartar together to combine. Set aside
– in another bowl, melt the butter and combine it with the sugars. Mix until combined, and then add in one egg at a time. Then add in the vanilla and mix until incorporated.
– pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix by a spatula or by hand until the dough forms. Do not overmix.
– take your preferred pan out and press half of the dough into the bottom of the pan. Take your cinnamon sugar and sprinkle it on top of the dough; set aside. Put the rest of the remaining cookie dough aside as well.
CHEESECAKE
– in a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, egg, sugar, and vanilla extract. whisk the ingredients together until the  mixture becomes light and fluffy.
– pour this cream cheese mixture over the cookie dough in the pan and spread evenly to cover it all. I like to slam the pan on the counter to get rid of all the bubbles, if there are any.
– take the remaining cookie dough and start grabbing pieces of it and scatter it across the cheesecake filling. It’ll look like a cluster of islands, (the filling as water and the dough as land). Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar on top.
– bake for 30-35 minutes or until the edges and top turn golden brown.
– remove from oven and let it cool for about 30 minutes before cutting. I like to eat it right then and there, but if you have more patience than me, put it in the fridge for 4 hours – overnight for the bars to harden.