Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars

Scott signed me up for the Bake-Off at work, and my randomly assigned category was cheesecake! Oh no... break my heart... ha, ha! But I need to make a cheesecake that can easily be made into 35 servings with a generic enough flavor to appeal to most people without being boring, yet special enough to hopefully win the contest. So I stumbled upon a recipe for Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars and have been adapting it to try and make it perfect. Let me tell you... no one is complaining!

I am going to include the recipe for the bars, along with a recipe for a full round cheesecake made in a 9-inch springform pan.

Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients:

Cinnamon Sugar:

• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

Cookie Crust:

• ⅔ cup (150gm) unsalted butter, room temperature
• ⅔ cup granulated sugar
• 1 ½ tbsp light brown sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
• 2 tsp corn starch
• 1 ½ tsp cream of tartar
• ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon

Cheesecake Filling:

• 2 lb (4 bricks) full-fat cream cheese, room temperature
• 1½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1½ cup full-fat sour cream

Crumb Topping:

• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Cinnamon Sugar:

1. In a bowl, combine the sugar with the cinnamon until blended together.
2. Set aside until needed.

Cookie Crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Thoroughly grease a 10x15 glass baking pan with non-stick baking spray, or line the pan with baking paper so that the paper hangs over the edges.
• Note: This pan size is just one size larger than a 9x13.
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar for 5 minutes, scraping the bowl several times, until light and fluffy.
3. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla, and mix on low to combine. The mixture will look lumpy.
4. Separately, whisk together the flour, corn starch, cream of tartar, salt and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix just until everything comes together into a dough.
5. Press the snickerdoodle cookie dough against the bottom of the prepared pan. Poke all over with a fork or dough docker. Sprinkle the dough with about half of the cinnamon sugar mixture.
6. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and turn the oven down to 325F.
7. While the crust is baking, you should be getting the filling and topping ready.

Cheesecake Filling:

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or paddle, beat the cream cheese with the sugar for 5 minutes, until smooth and fluffy.
2. Add the vanilla bean paste and the eggs, mixing on low (or whisking by hand) until combined. Whisk in the sour cream.
3. After pressing down the cookie crust (per instructions above), spread the filling over the hot crust.

Crumb Topping:

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Drizzle with the melted butter, and stir together until moist and crumbly.
2. Sprinkle the topping over the cheesecake filling.

Bake:

1. Bake the cheesecake for about 35 minutes (be sure the oven is set to 325). The topping should be golden brown, and the cheesecake should still have a slight wobble to it. Center should be 150 degrees.
2. Turn off the oven, prop open the door about an inch or two and leave the bars to finish a slow cook for about 30 minutes.
3. Remove from oven. Cool at room temperature for 2 hours, then refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours, or overnight, until well chilled and set.
4. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the cheesecake, and cut into squares. Because of the crumb topping, it is nice to serve the square in cupcake liners to contain the mess. You can get about 35 servings by cutting in a 4-slice by 9-slice grid. For clean, professional looking slices, run a large knife under hot water, dry the blade, and then make one slice straight down and back up. Do not drag the knife through the cheesecake to complete a longer cut. Clean and reheat the blade between each cut.

Marsha's Notes:

For more cinnamon flavor, you can also add a cinnamon sauce to your recipe. Either swirl it into the cheesecake filling or spread it over your crust after it has had it's initial 10 minute bake. A single batch of sauce should probably be suitable for a 9-inch cheesecake, but you will want to double the recipe for a large pan of bars. To make the sauce:

Cinnamon Sauce:

• ¼ cup butter
• ¾ cup dark brown sugar
• 3 Tbl. half and half
• 1 Tbl. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 Tbl. flour

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar, 2 Tbl. half and half, cinnamon, salt, and cloves and cook while stirring constantly until mixture comes to a simmer. Immediately remove from heat, add remaining table spoon half and half and stir in flour. 

Snickerdoodle Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Cinnamon Sugar:

• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Cookie Crust:

• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cups + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
• 1 tsp corn starch
• 3/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/4 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Cheesecake Filling:

• 2 lb (4 bricks) full-fat cream cheese, room temperature
• 1½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1½ cup full-fat sour cream

Crumb Topping:

• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Cinnamon Sugar:

1. In a bowl, combine the sugar with the cinnamon until blended together.
2. Set aside until needed.

Cookie Crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Thoroughly grease a 9-inch springform baking pan with non-stick baking spray. If desired, cut a circle of parchment paper to fit in the bottom of your pan before spraying.
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar for 5 minutes, scraping the bowl several times, until light and fluffy.
3. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix on low to combine. The mixture will look lumpy.
4. Separately, whisk together the flour, corn starch, cream of tartar, salt and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix just until everything comes together into a dough.
5. Press the snickerdoodle cookie dough against the bottom of the prepared pan. Poke all over with a fork. Sprinkle the dough with about half of the cinnamon sugar mixture.
6. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and turn the oven down to 325F.
7. While the crust is baking, you should be getting the filling and topping ready.

Cheesecake Filling:

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or paddle, beat the cream cheese with the sugar for 5 minutes, until smooth and fluffy.
2. Add the vanilla bean paste and the eggs, mixing on low (or whisking by hand) until combined. Whisk in the sour cream.
3. After pressing down the cookie crust (per instructions above), spread the filling over the hot crust.

Crumb Topping:

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Drizzle with the melted butter, and stir together until moist and crumbly.
2. Sprinkle the topping over the cheesecake filling.

Bake:

1. To bake the cheesecake in a water bath: Wrap the bottom and sides of the springform pan in a large piece of tin foil to prevent water from leaking into the cheesecake.
• I like to use the extra-long tin foil rolls for this so I can cover the entire bottom and sides of the pan with a single sheet. Using two smaller pieces to cover often leads to leaks.
2. Then place the spring form pan into an oven-safe dish large enough to hold the cheesecake pan and enough hot water poured around the foil-wrapped cheesecake pan to come about 2 inches up the sides (or halfway up the pan). Place in the center of the oven.
• It can be helpful to wait to pour the water in until after the cheesecake and oven-safe dish have been placed in the oven.
3. Bake the cheesecake for about 60-75 minutes (be sure the oven is set to 325). The topping should be golden brown, and the cheesecake should still have a slight wobble to it. Center should be 150 degrees but no hotter than 160 degrees. If your cheesecake has not yet reached 150 degrees, continuing cooking at 325 until it has.
4. Turn off the oven, prop open the door about an inch or two and leave cheesecake to finish a slow cook for about 30-60 minutes to completely set the middle.
5. Remove from oven. Cool at room temperature for 2 hours, then refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours, or overnight, until well chilled and set.
6. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the cheesecake, and cut into squares. Because of the crumb topping, it is nice to serve the square in cupcake liners to contain the mess. You can get about 35 servings by cutting in a 4-slice by 9-slice grid. For clean, professional looking slices, run a large knife under hot water, dry the blade, and then make one slice straight down and back up. Do not drag the knife through the cheesecake to complete a longer cut. Clean and reheat the blade between each cut.

Marsha's Notes:

For more cinnamon flavor, you can also add a cinnamon sauce to your recipe. Either swirl it into the cheesecake filling or spread it over your crust after it has had it's initial 10 minute bake. A single batch of sauce should probably be suitable for a 9-inch cheesecake, but you will want to double the recipe for a large pan of bars. To make the sauce:

Cinnamon Sauce:

• ¼ cup butter
• ¾ cup dark brown sugar
• 3 Tbl. half and half
• 1 Tbl. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 Tbl. flour

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar, 2 Tbl. half and half, cinnamon, salt, and cloves and cook while stirring constantly until mixture comes to a simmer. Immediately remove from heat, add remaining table spoon half and half and stir in flour.