Cherry Cheese Bars
These cherry cream cheese bars were divine. The cream cheese added the rich creaminess; I made my own cherry pie filling, which was packed with cherry flavour and not super sweet, also did a few changes to make these bars healthier (see the linked recipe below) but still decadent.
Ingredients
| Crust | |||
| 1 | cup |
walnuts
pieces, divided |
|
| 1 ¼ | cups |
all-purpose flour
|
|
| ½ | cup |
brown sugar
firmly packed |
* |
| ½ | cup |
vegetable shortening
butter flavour |
* |
| ½ | cup |
coconut
flaked |
* |
| Filling | |||
| 2 | packages |
cream cheese
softened, 8 ounces each |
|
| ⅔ | cup |
sugar
granulated |
|
| 2 | large |
eggs
|
|
| 2 | teaspoons |
vanilla extract
|
|
| 21 | ounces |
cherry pie filling
|
|
Directions
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃). Grease a 13x9x2-inch pan with Butter Flavor shortening. Set aside.
Chop ½ cup nuts coursely for topping. Set aside. Chop remaining ½ cup nuts, finely.
For crust:
Combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in Butter Flavor shortening until fine crumbs form.
Add ½ cup finely chopped nuts and coconut. Mix well. Remove ½ cup. Set aside. Press remaining crumbs in bottom of pan.
Bake at 350℉ (180℃) F for 12 to 15 minutes, until edges are lighty browned.
For filling:
Beat cream cheese, granulated sugar, eggs and smooth. Spread over hot baked crust. Return to oven. Bake 15 minutes longer. Spread cherry pie filling over cheese layer.
Combine reserved coursely chopped nuts and reserved crumbs. Sprinkle evenly over cherries.
Return to oven. Bake 15 minutes longer. Cool. Refrigerate several hours. Cut into bars, about 2 x 1½ inches.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 71g (2.5 oz)
