The Most Addicting Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars
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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!
Get these out of my house!
Thick buttery, crispy double-crusted cheesecake bars, brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. On the inside we’ve got a gooey, creamy cheesecake filling. Like I said, seriously the best, most addicting thing ever.
Dessert has been my favorite meal of the day for the majority of my life. Because surely by now all adults have realized that DESSERT is in fact a separate meal of its own. But this weird thing started happening in my late twenties where salty truffle fries and cheesy nachos all of a sudden started tasting a whole lot better. But ever since we went low carb, it seems like all the dessert ideas/cravings are just popping into my head more frequently than usual. It’s that whole concept of wanting what you can’t have. Self proclaimed sugar queen right here. ??
So here’s the deal, normally the only kind of dessert that disappears from this house as fast as these sopapilla cheesecake bars did usually have a drizzle, a sprinkle, or are completely submerged in chocolate. Both the hubby and I come from a family who LIVES for chocolate. Every single one of us. So it was pretty shocking to see these sopapilla cheesecake bars disappear as quickly as they did. But I guess when you’ve got a kinda sweet and a little salty sort of addicting flavor profile and cheesecake filling in the middle, it doesn’t matter that there isn’t chocolate in the picture.
When I was concept planning and thinking about making some kind of cheesecake filled snickerdoodle type bar situation, I ran the idea over with Anees, and as usual with anything that doesn’t involve chocolate, I got the head nod, the shifty-eyed ponder, followed by that one question. Will you drizzle it with chocolate? Oy. It’s hard to convince a man who loves chocolate so passionately that not everyone else in the world feels the same way.
I ran with the original idea and on a Thursday, when he got back from out of town, after dinner I told him I had a dessert I wanted him to try. Two bites in, I knew he was hooked. Not because he actually had a chance to say the words but because of the silence. Silent bites sometimes convey more to me than actual words spoken. He went back for a second bar. Then I heard how good they were. ?
And that’s when I knew. These bars need to GET OUT OF THE HOUSE.
I passed some along to family, some to friends, and left a very small portion for us. Because the weirdest thing started happening. In the dead of the night, these bars had a way of disappearing on us. Best when consumed cold, with the incriminating light of the refrigerator shining down on the assailant.
Let me tell you about these sopapilla cheesecake bars.
First, these cinnamon sugar cheesecake bars aren’t super sweet. Lately, my tolerance for super sweet desserts has gone way down. You’ll actually find me scraping frosting off my cake now which certainly never happened in the past. So these are at that sweet spot of sweetness.
These bars start with a box of puff pastry dough. Most recipes tell you to use crescent dough but to tell you the truth, i’m just not a huge fan of the stuff. They’re overly salty and super doughy for my taste. But puff pastry is buttery, flaky, and light, exactly the kind of thing that we need. For the filling, you need your usual cheesecake ingredients. A couple bars of cream cheese, a little sour cream, an egg, sugar, and vanilla. For the snickerdoodle like topping – just a little cinnamon sugar and a few tablespoons of melted butter to get it all nice and crispy on top. 8 simple ingredients and i’m willing to bet you’ve got most of them at home already. ??
Make these and take pictures of your empty pans because they are going to disappear so so fast.
These sopapilla cheesecake bars will rock your world.
The Most Addicting Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars
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!
Ingredients
- 1 box or 2 - (10" x 15") puff pastry sheets
- 2 (8 ounce) bricks of cream cheese (see notes), room temp
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar, divided
- ¼ cup sour cream, room temp
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted (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.
is this a good choice for you?
serving size: 1/20th of recipe
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21 Comments on “The Most Addicting Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars”
These were just about the most delicious thing I’d ever put in my mouth…for 24 hours. Unfortunately they don’t keep very well. The soft filling soaks into the puff pastry and turns it tough pretty quickly. They still taste great, but the texture changes significantly. I’ll for sure make them again but for something where they’ll get eaten quickly – and don’t make them ahead!
This was the best cheesecake I have had in a while. I am making it again to share with my grown out of the house kids. For them I am going to drizzle honey on top but it is not really needed.
I’d like to veganize these. What’s the purpose of the egg in this recipe? Does it serve as a binder?
The egg helps thicken the cheesecake batter as well as make the batter smooth and to give it a richer texture.
I made these for the first time today, and they were amazing. Like you, I’m not a huge fan of croissant sheets, so I was happy to find a recipe using puff pastry. Thank you for a wonderful recipe. I look forward to making these again soon.
These were a huge hit at my workplace! Even the people that don’t normally like sweets, they loved it!
I just need to work on how to prevent the pastry sheet from shrinking. I stretched it out and poked holes in it.
Great recipe! Thank you!
These were amazing ! People who don’t like cheesecake inhaled them. Wondering has anyone ever frozen and served them later ?
SO GOOD. I made these for a bake sale at work and they were gone in, literally, 10 minutes. I called them Churro Cheesecake Bars, though, because I’m in marketing and that’s what we do. 🙂 The dough was a little tough to figure out. I had one throw-away batch (and by “throw away” I mean kept it for myself). The second one I figured out to roll the dough to 10×15, press the edges into the dish, then roll the second sheet to 9×13 and tuck them together. But seriously, SO GOOD!
Hi there…
I followed the measurements and directions to a T. However, my filling was rather runny. Lots of it oozed out of the sides when I placed the pastry on top. Any suggestions?
Thanks a million!
Sally
Hi, Sally! Sorry to hear these didn’t turn out for you. It’s really difficult for me to say exactly what may have gone wrong, but it seems like you may have over beat the cream cheese mixture just a tad bit. Once you add the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla, you would mix until *just* combined. I’d say in the ballpark of 5-10 seconds. Thanks for your feedback though, I’ll try and make the directions a little more clear! 🙂
Can I use 3 packages of cream cheese? Pat
Pat, the recipe suggests 2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese. For best results, I suggest following the recipe exactly as written.
Hi, can I substitute whole milk for sour cream?
I’m unsure whether milk will work or not, for best results, I suggest following the recipe exactly as written.
These were awesome! Very light and flakey. I made three batches for my Mexican theme birthday party and had requests for the recipe. I used a lightly floured rolling pin/board to roll out the dough to make it slightly larger than the 9×13 pan. It does shrink even with the fork pricks. I will try not tucking the top crust in the next time. It made it a little too crust for the outside pieces, but don’t know if it would make the filling ooze out. The photos are of the inside pieces. Delicious dessert, I will definitely make again!!
Hi which brand puff pastry did you purchase?
These were a HUGE hit at a party last week. People were just raving about them. I had to share the recipe with 5 people! This will be a go to…
So happy to hear that Tracy! Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment 🙂
Amazingly easy to make and very delicious! I will definitely make them again. ?
So happy to hear you enjoyed them Shelley! 🙂