Oreo and Snickers Cheesecake Bars

Every fall at my work (a University), we have an Open House for prospective students and their families.  As part of the days events, we provide a continental breakfast that includes bagels and cream cheese.  For some reason, we always end up with a massive amount of left over cream cheese!  And when I mean massive, I’m taking like a 100 of the little single servings of cream cheese.  Last year, I volunteered to take some because 1) I knew I could find something to make with it, 2) I don’t really buy cream cheese a lot and 3) I could bake something yummy to take into the office!  So this year I did the same and was sent home with a grocery bag full of little cream cheeses.  And what did I make, you ask?

Oreo and Snickers Cheesecake Bars!  Wow-o-wow, these were awesome!  I got the recipe from the Philadelphia Cream Cheese website.  They have a lot of great recipes on this site and they have a cool feature called the Cheesecake Customizer.  In playing with the customizer, I thought to myself, “Self, what would be delicious in cheesecake?  What are some of your favorite treats?”  And my answers were Oreos and Snickers.  Yum-my!  So, I plugged those treats into the customizer, got the recipe and started opening my 32 little cream cheese servings!  Talk about a pain in the butt!  It was worth it though because the bars turned out deliciously and of course, they were gone in an instant at work.  I did manage to grab a piece before it disappeared and I’m glad I did because it was heavenly!

Enjoy!

 

Ingredients.

My piece!

Sara’s Oreo and Snickers Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients

Crust:

• 2 cups cookie crumbs, OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
• 4 Tbsp. butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup sugar

Cheesecake Batter:

• 4 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream

Batter Flavorings:

• 1 Tbsp vanilla

Mix-In's and Toppings:

• 1 cup mixed into batter and 1/2 cup sprinkled on top Oreo (cookie), coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup mixed into batter and 1/2 cup sprinkled on top Snickers (candy), coarsely chopped

Directions

CRUST: Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 13x9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Mix Crust ingredients; press onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 10 min.

BATTER: Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Stir in Mix-Ins. Pour over crust.

TOPPINGS: Add Toppings.

BAKING: Bake 40 min or until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours. Use foil handles to lift cheesecake from pan before cutting to serve. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Surprise Center Cupcakes

This recipe/idea is SO simple, that I almost feel bad posting about it...almost.  We had Jake and Kayla over for dinner last week and I wanted to make a dessert too.  Jerm asked me, "Well, do you really need to make a dessert?"  Ummm, hello?  Desserts/sweets are my favorite thing to make, plus it was Kayla's birthday!  Yes Jerm, I needed to make a dessert! 

Anyway, it was a busy week, so I wanted something simple to throw together.  When I think simple, I think cake mix.  But how could I jazz up the cake mix and make it a bit special??  Hmmm...this is where that bag of mini Snickers, that I bought on sale, come into play.  I'm a big fan of adding candy to baked goods.  Candy can easily spice up your treats and add a pleasant surprise! 

For the cupcakes I decided to make, I added one mini Snickers to the center of each and topped it with a bit of additional batter.  The outside chocolate layer of the Snickers melted into the batter, making it extra chocolately, while the caramel and peanuts added a scrumptious center to the cupcakes.  Frosted with "Funfetti" frosting, these cupcakes were delicious!  I ate one with breakfast the other day. :)  So, next time you're looking to jazz up your cake mix try adding some candy to the batter for a tasty surprise.

Enjoy!

Ingredients.

 

Batter and Snickers.

Frosted and sprinkled.

 

About to be my breakfast!  Look at that yummy center.

Surprise Center Cupcakes, by me

Ingredients

• 1 box cake mix (any flavor you'd like)
• eggs, oil and water (amount that cake mix brand calls for)
• 1 jar of frosting (any flavor you'd like)
• Mini chocolate candies (Snickers, Peanut Butter Cups, Twix, etc.)

Directions

1. Follow baking directions on the box, but just add one candy to the center of each cupcake or randomly throughout the cake pan that you're using.