Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

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So, you’re wondering what dessert to serve at your Cinco de Mayo party, aren’t you?  Blondie to the rescue!  This is the perfect way to top off the event.

My girlfriend, Ashley, introduced me to these insanely yummy tidbits a few years ago.  She hosted a dinner party and to finish things off she brought out a tray of these bad boys.  What’s that you say?  “Sopapillas AND cheesecake”?  Why, yes, I will!

If you’ve never had a sopapilla, you’re missing out.  Most Mexican restaurants bring them out after your meal, just when you can’t put another crumb in your mouth.  But somehow you do once you get a whiff of the tempting puffs.  They’re fluffy, pillowy deep-fried pastries that are rolled in cinnamon sugar.  And then to top it off, they’re drizzled in honey.  The honey is optional, but not really. 

When the brilliant idea of combining sopapillas and cream cheese was brought to my attention, I knew it was fate.  

This is what you need:

First, preheat your oven to 350°.  Then toss the softened cream cheese into a mixing bowl.

The first few times I made this, I used 2 blocks of cream cheese and they turned out delicious.  But I felt like they could use a little more of the good stuff, so I decided to pump up the jam.  In other words, I added another block of cream cheese.

Next, add 1 ½ cups of sugar…

And then the vanilla.  

If you’re wondering why it looks like the cream cheese is partially mixed, that’s because it is.  I started to mix it before I realized that I forgot the vanilla.  Whoopsie! 

Now we’re ready to get to mixin’.  

Keep at it for a few minutes until it’s smooth and creamy like this.

Set the cream cheese mixture aside and grab one tube of crescents.

Crack into it and unroll the whole tube.  You can do this on the counter or directly into your greased 13×9 glass baking dish.

Pinch all the seams together.  We’re trying to create one big piece.  If you can find the sheets of crescents, those are much easier; however, I can only find them around the holidays.

Don’t worry too much about it being perfect.  You just want to make sure that you’ve spread it to the edges of the dish and the seams are somewhat mushed together.  

Purdy!

Now plop the cream cheese mixture on to the crescents.  

Have I ever mentioned that I hate the word ‘mixture’?  I think it’s the sound your mouth makes when you say it.  It gives me the willies!  I have a few others that creep me out, but I’ll save those for another time.

Smooth out the cream cheese with the back of your spoon.  Or spatula.  Or your hand, whichever you prefer.

More purdiness!

Next, we’re going to take the second tube of crescents and roll them on top of the cream cheese layer.  This is kind of tricky, so be gentle.

Pinch the seams together, and again, don’t worry about it being perfect.  We’re going to put something on top that will hide any imperfections.  

You want to concentrate on bringing the edges to the sides of the dish so that the cream cheese is covered.

We’re almost finished.  In a small bowl, pour the remaining ¾ cup of sugar.

And then toss in a heaping tablespoon of cinnamon.  That may sound like too much, but it isn’t.  We really want the cinnamon flavor to come through.

Then whisk the cinnamon and sugar together…

Until it looks like this.

Set that aside and go melt the butter.  You know where this is headed, don’t you?  

That’s right… pour the melted butter on top of the second crescent layer.  Oh my.

Spread out the butter as evenly as you can.  It will pool in some areas, but that’s okay.  Who doesn’t like a little butter pool every now and then?

Now sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top of the butter.  

It’s okay if it looks like this.  The dark areas are just the cinnamon sugar going for a dip in the butter pool.

Toss it in the 350° oven for 30-35 minutes.  This is what it’ll look like when it’s done.  The cinnamon sugar and butter form a delicious crust on top.

This is where you have to use some self-restraint.  You have to refrigerate the dish for at least 8 hours, but I usually do it overnight.  You want the cheesecake layer to set up so you can cut them into bars without falling apart.  If you can’t wait that long, they’re still delicious.  You just may have to use a fork instead of your hands.  And that means more to clean up.  But hey, it’s up to you!

Holy moly!  

Look at that beautiful layer of cinnamon sugar.

And if you’re into gilding the lily, you can drizzle some honey on top.

Oh, momma.

Here are the specifics: