Tried & True Tuesday: Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

. I have to be honest, I didn't really know what 'Cinco de Mayo' stood for when I was younger.  Okay, maybe it was a few years ago but who's keeping track.  Cinco?  No clue.  De?  I think we forgot some letters in this word.  Mayo?  Oh yeah, duh, the stuff you put on sandwiches!

I kind of pride myself on having a good amount of common sense, but for one reason or another, some things just don't click in this head of mine.  This was one of those things.

Thankfully, I took a Spanish class in college (I took sign language in high school, hence not learning a spit of Spanish until college) and all of the pieces of the puzzle began to fall in to place.  It was amazing the number of things that I started to understand!  And also a tad pathetic at the same time that it took that long...

But anywho, in the spirit of Cinco de Mayo [which is, just in case you've lost track of the days, this Thursday!],  I'm sharing with you Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars!  I found this fabulous recipe on AllRecipes.com (link on the right hand side of the blog) and it's one of the easiest desserts I have ever put together.  I actually made these a year or two ago for a friend's birthday.  A group of us planned to go to a Southwestern-style restaurant for dinner and to go along with the theme, I made this goodie.  And oh lordy, are they dee-lish!  This little treat has two layers of fluffy dough filled with a rich and sweet cream cheese frosting.  THEN, a mixture of butter, sugar, and cinnamon is slathered gently brushed across the top.  After the bars are done baking, a thick [or thin, whichever you please] dose of honey is drizzled all over.  MmmMMmMm!!  Crunchy, creamy, sweet.  Again, MmMmMMMM!

So if you have any plans for this Thursday, or even if you don't, make these.  They're so, so quick to put together and perfect for the Cinco de Mayo celebration! .

P.S. - I'll be making these later this week for Treat Day (yes, another one!) at the office on Friday.  So I'll post some step-by-step pictures on how to make these...if you want them ☺

Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars

Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients:

2 (8 oz. each) packages cream cheese, softened

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 (10 oz. each) cans Big & Flakey refrigerated crescent rolls

3/4 c. sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 c. butter, room temperature

1/4 c. honey

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.
2. Beat cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar and vanilla extract in medium-sized bowl until smooth.  Set aside.
3. Unroll cans of crescent roll dough and use a rolling pin to shape each piece into 13x9-inch rectangles.  Press one piece into bottom of pan.  Evenly spread cream cheese mixture into pan.  Cover filling with remaining piece of dough.  
4. Stir together 3/4 cup sugar, cinnamon and butter.  Dot mixture on top of bars.
5. Bake 30 minutes or until dough has puffed and turned golden brown.  Remove from oven and drizzle with honey.  Cool completely in pan.

Yield: 24 bars