Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

These bars are a-maz-ing!  I wish that I was responsible for this most fabulous recipe but I cannot take any of the credit.  I was introduced to these bites of heaven via my fab friend (and cook) Stacie, and they hail from Melanie over at MelsKitchenCafe, she has a dynamite food blog, definitely worth taking the time to browse her site!  These babies are 5 layers of bliss, the bottom is a buttery cookie crust, topped with a creamy layer of cheesecake, then comes the tart and sweet cinnamon apples, topped with an oat streusel (my favorite part) and then finally, a drizzle of caramel sauce.  Really, need I say more.  I have made these for a couple of showers (baby and bridal) and there has never been one bar leftover.  I have emailed this recipe to most people who have tasted.  Honestly, I am drooling just thinking about them!  My one bit of advice is that they are kind of messy and fragile, so be careful as you cut them and place them on your serving platter. 

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping


INGREDIENTS:
Base:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
Cream Cheese Layer:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Apples:
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Streusel Topping:
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
Caramel Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cups half-and-half or cream
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, two tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine all the streusel topping ingredients and mix until crumbly. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture is crumbly but combined. Press evenly into a 9X13-inch baking pan lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
While the crust is baking, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Then add eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla. Mix well. Pour over the warm crust.
Spoon the apple mixture evenly over the cheesecake layer. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the apples. Bake for 30 minutes until the filling is set.
Cool the bars to room temperature. Drizzle with the caramel topping (or plate individual slices and drizzle with topping one by one).
For the caramel sauce, mix butter, brown sugar, half-and-half or cream, and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook while whisking gently for 5 to 7 minutes, until thickened slightly. Add the vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further. Turn off the heat and pour the sauce into a jar. Refrigerate until cold. If the caramel sauce has cooled in the fridge long enough to harden, warm slightly before drizzling on bars.

Recipe Source: MelsKitchenCafe

Creamy Bachamel Mac N Cheese with Roasted Cauliflower

Alrighty, time to step away from our Halloween sugar over-load for a moment and talk about pure comfort food with a gourmet twist.  I really should be posting something super healthy to balance out my (our) over dose of candy and pumpkin goodies, but I have really been wanting to post this creamy, dreamy, straight to the hips dinner for a while now.  Roasted Cauliflower really goes well with cheesy pasta, I love the combination.  The Bachemel base allows you to use a lot less cheese but it doesn't taste any less cheesy.  The sauce also sticks really well to the pasta (a bad recipe is too oily and the cheese doesn't adhere to the pasta well enough).  This is a great balance of creamy, cheesy deliciousness with a touch of gourmet when you toss in the roasted cauliflower.  Just right with a salad on a cool winter night.  Enjoy!   PS- Kitchen to table in about 30 minutes.   

** My husband ate the leftovers the next day with chopped turkey bacon we had leftover from breakfast, I took a bite, it rocked.  A great way to add meat if you are a "it's not a meal without meat" kind of cook or you just love bacon. 

Creamy Bachemel Mac N Cheese with Roasted Cauliflower

Serves 8 to 10 (recipe can easily be cut in half)

Ingredients 
1 stick butter
1/2 plus two tablespoons flour
4 cups of milk
1 cup cheddar
1 cup mozzarella
1 pound dry macaroni pasta
sea salt and white pepper to taste
1 head Cauliflower
About 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400.  
2. Start your water for the pasta
3. Cut  head of cauliflower into bite size pieces.  Place on baking sheet and toss in a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.  Roast at 400 for 12 to 15 minutes. Cauliflower should be slightly soft but still hard enough to hold it's shape well and not feel "mushy".  Just taste one
4. In the meantime,  Cook pasta according to package directions. 
5. In the meantime, make the sauce.  
6. In a large saucepan, melt  butter over medium heat.  Once butter is melted, add flower while whisking, whisk until smooth, this should take about 2 minutes.  Gradually add milk and whisk continually until the sauce is smooth and creamy.  Simmer for about 10 minutes until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of your spoon.  Remove from heat add cheeses and season with salt and pepper.  Toss in cauliflower and serve while hot.