These apple cheesecake bars with a buttery streusel, are out of this world delicious!
Jump to RecipeSomething about the smell of crisp apples and warm spices sets the tone for welcoming all the fall baking and festivities! That's what you'll experience when you make these yummy apple cheesecake bars. The smells coming from your kitchen when baking these, will have your home feeling warm and cozy in no time!
The layers
These bars feature 4 layers of deliciousness starting with the buttery, graham cracker crust. I added a bit of apple pie spice to the crust which gave it a little extra something. The next layer is the creamy cheesecake layer which is a combination of cream cheese and sour cream. The third one is a layer of diced apples that have been tossed in sugar and apple pie spice. The fourth layer is my favorite. The streusel! It is the perfect ratio of flour, brown sugar, butter, and apple pie spice. I like to add a ½ cup of chopped pecans over the crumble as well. The toasty flavor they get after being baked is the best!
Picking your apples
You can honestly use any 2 apples for this recipe. The most recent time around, I used Fuji apples. Peeling the apples before cubing them, is optional. I left the skin on mine.
Tools you will want to have on hand
- Stand Mixer: I like using mine to make the cream cheese layer. It blends everything together, nice and smoothly.
- Pastry Blender: This will be used to make the crumble layer. You can also use a hand mixer to do this if you don't have a pastry blender. Just be sure to not overmix your crumble ingredients. It should still look like big crumbles. If you don't have either of those items, you can also use a fork although, your hand may get tired from this method!
Looking for other delicious fall recipes? You will love my Apple Cider Bundt Cake with an Apple Cider Glaze and my Simple and Delicious Chai Cookies
The Best Apple Cheesecake Bars
Equipment
- 9"x13" baking dish
- pastry blender
- food processor
- stand mixer
Ingredients
- 16 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature 2 8oz packages
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 apples chopped into small cubes peeling apples is optional
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp apple pie spice
Crust
- 15 graham cracker sheets (rectangles)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 9 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon apple pie spice See recipe in notes to make your own
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Streusel topping
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
- ½ cup pecans, chopped
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
Crust
- Place graham cracker sheets in food processor and pulse until they become fine crumbs. Place crumbs in a medium sized bowl and combine with melted butter, apple pie spice and salt. Press into your 9"x13" baking pan (I used the bottom of a measuring cup to do this). Bake for 8 minutes.
Cream cheese filling
- In your stand mixer, combine cream cheese, egg, vanilla extract, sugar, and sour cream. Pour cream cheese mixture over cooled crust.
Apples
- In a small bowl, combine cubed apples with the 2 tablespoon of sugar along with 1 teaspoon of apple pie spice. Sprinkle apples over cream cheese filling.
Crumble topping
- In a large bowl, whisk in brown sugar, flour, salt, and apple pie spice. Add in cubed butter and mix with pastry blender or hand-held mixer until you get nice crumbles. Sprinkle crumbles over apples, then sprinkle pecans over crumbles.
- Bake for 45 minutes at 350°F. Let bars cool to room temperature. Then chill in refrigerator for a few hours before removing from pan and cutting.
Notes
- 4 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
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