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ALMOND CHEESECAKE APPLE BARS

Before Christmas, I bought a "Best of Fine Cooking" magazine called SweetCakes. It is an excellent issue and I keep it next to my recliner so I can browse at will. Today's recipe comes from that magazine. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get a very good photo of it, so let me describe it for you. It has a thin, cream cheese & nut cookie crust, then a layer of very thinly sliced apples, covered with a cheesecake filling, then more of the crust ingredients (with added nuts) sprinkled over the top before baking. It really is delicious.
CRUST AND TOPPING
1¼ cups flour + 2 tablespoons (divided)
¼ teaspoon table salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 ounces (4 tablespoons) cream cheese
¼ teaspoon almond extract
¼ cup white sugar + 2 tablespoons (divided)
¼ cup brown sugar +2 tablespoons (divided)
¾ cup slivered almonds chopped
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FILLING
4 ounces cream cheese
½ cup white sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
pinch table salt
2 medium apples (see note) 1 pound
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Heat oven to 350F and cut a 9" x 14" piece of parchment paper to line a 9" square baking pan (it will extend over the ends, like handles, so you can lift the baked bars out of the pan). Butter the parchment paper and sides of the pan.
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MAKE THE CRUST AND TOPPING
Mix 1¼ cups of flour with salt (set the other 2 tablespoons aside). Beat the room temperature butter until smooth, beat in softened cream cheese and almond extract. Scrape down sides of bowl, when necessary and beat everything for about a minute. Add ¼ cup of the white sugar and ¼ cup of the brown sugar and beat till smooth. Add the flour-salt mixture and 1/3 cup of the chopped nuts. Beat only until the flour is absorbed and the mixture starts to come together in clumps. Set aside 2/3 cup of this dough and press the rest of the dough into the prepared pan, in a thin, even layer. Prick all over with fork. Bake in 350F oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden.


While crust bakes, add the 2 tablespoons of reserved four and the remaining 2 tablespoons of white sugar and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar into the reserved dough. Mix it in with your fingers, then squeeze the dough all together in a ball.
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Peel, core and slice two Braeburn, Gala or Rome apples into 1/8" slices, set aside.
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MAKE THE CHEESECAKE FILLING
Beat the (room temperature) cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth; add sugars and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add egg and beat until well combined. Beat in lemon zest, lemon juice and salt.
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ASSEMBLE
Spread the apple slices over the baked crust. Pour the cheesecake filling over the apples, spreading gently and evenly. Crumble the topping ingredients and scatter over the cheesecake filling (pieces can be as big as a cherry). Sprinkle with remaining nuts. Bake in preheated 350F for 45 to 50 minutes or until topping is light golden brown.

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Remove from oven and keep in pan for 30 minutes (cool on wire rack). After 30 minutes, use the long ends of the parchment paper to lift the bars out onto a cutting board (don't remove paper yet). Let cool completely, then slide a long metal spatula under the bars, lifting, and sliding the paper out. Cut into squares.

NOTE: I used pecans instead of almonds and I used two Braeburn apples sliced very thin.
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NOTE: Next time I make this recipe (which will be soon) I am going to sprinkle the apples with a little cinnamon.
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