snickerdoodle cheesecake bars.

Big things are coming! In life, that is. Graduation in a few months is not even in my mind - there are other important things to do first.

Have (survive) a successful Dance Marathon.
Finish my thesis. (LOL. SOS.)
Run the half marathon 8K I signed up for.

And THEN, a mere few days after the end of finals period, I can don my cap and gown, stumble down the aisle to pose for a quick candid shot for my parents, and head back. A 2-minute walk and 2-hour ceremony to mark the end of my four years of higher level education.

I'm gonna stop with the description because it's actually making it hit me a little bit.

I made these bars for a Superbowl potluck. As a chronic overscheduler, I had very little time to make something. So I succumbed to using cake mix, but definitely mixed it up.

These bars begin with a box of white cake mix - a great base to start. Some cinnamon starts creating the snickerdoodle flavor profile. Browning the butter (instead of oil) lends a deeper flavor ... and it's browned butter. C'mon.

The cheesecake layer consists very simply of cream cheese and brown sugaaaaaaa. You can see it clearly in the first picture.

Some of the bar mixture is reserved to crumble on top, in order to make the cheesecake layer sandwiched and sort of hidden.

See? You can't even tell the bars started with a cake mix. They come out soft, but firm. They don't really crisp or get hard/crunchy.

Enjoy! Hope this can be of use in a pinch, like it was for me. 

Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars

Snickerdoodle

• 1 box white cake mix
• 1 stick butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Cheesecake Layer

• 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature 
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Brown butter - place stick of butter in a pan and let melt completely. Leaving heat on low, continue to simmer butter until fragrant and the foam starts to dissipate. The foam will start to brown. Keep checking butter, so it does not burn! After it is browned, set aside and let cool.
3. Mix egg and cooled butter. Beat in cake mix and cinnamon until no dry mix is left.
4. Reserve 1 cup of dough. Pat the rest into a greased 9x9" pan. 
5. Mix cream cheese and sugar. Dollop and spread into even layer on top of dough.
6. Crumble and pat the remaining dough over the cream cheese layer. 
7. Bake about 30 minutes. 
8. Remove from oven. Let cool before slicing. Refrigerate for best cheesecake texture!