Mexican Sundae Cheesecake Bars

August 30, 2013 by Shannon

Sometimes the perfect dessert is a simple sundae. When I was younger, my brother, sister & I spent a lot of time at my grandparents house. In the summer on a really hot day, my grandfather would make us Mexican Sundaes. As simple as they were, I just loved the taste of the hot fudge and Spanish peanuts over good vanilla ice cream.

It wasn’t a big event or anything fancy, but it was a treat that I remember really looking forward to as a child. This week marks 16 years since my grandfather passed away. I think about him everyday, but this week even a little more than usual.

As a little way to remember him and those special times, I decided that I would make Mexican Sundaes for my children. We don’t really have sundaes a lot at our house, so it was a special treat. I got to tell them about the summers we spent with my grandfather and share part of my childhood with them. It was a sweet moment:)

I had some ingredients left over from our sundaes, so I was inspired to make these little cheesecake bars. They are really easy to make and have that wonderful Mexican Sundae flavor. The Spanish peanut crust gives you a wonderful nut flavor combined with creamy cheesecake in every bite.

You can keep these in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them and then just top the cheesecake bars with your favorite hot fudge and some Spanish peanuts. It’s a great dessert to make ahead of time and is simple but delicious!

Mexican Sundae Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients

For the Crust:
2 cups, ground Spanish Redskin Peanuts
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3 Tbsp. sugar
For the Cheesecake:
16 oz. cream cheese softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup half & half
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
For the Topping:
Your favorite hot fudge
whole Spanish peanuts

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine all of the crust ingredients.
Pour the crust mixture into an 8 x 8 glass baking dish and press down evenly across the bottom.
Bake the crust for 10-12 minutes and remove from the oven to cool.
* Keep an eye on the crust so it does not burn- nuts can burn very easily.
After the crust is completely cooled, combine all of the cheesecake ingredients and beat together well.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Pour the cheesecake filling on top of the crust and bake for 30- 35 minutes or until the center of the cheesecake looks almost set.
Cool the cheesecake and refrigerate.
When you are ready to serve, cut into bars, and top with hot fudge and Spanish peanuts.
Makes 12-16 bars.

https://www.cozycountryliving.com/mexican-sundae-cheesecake-bars/