Cream Cheese & Oat Bars

There isn’t much to say about these creamy, yet crunchy, sweet, yet salty and incredibly yummy bars except that they are terrific.  They are lovely and simple, and I will be marking this one in my recipe collection as one that is an all around pleaser and something I will probably make many times in the future.

I found this recipe on Bake or Break.  The title is what initially drew me to the post, but then I saw the photo and knew I really had to make these bars.

I used pecans instead of cashews, and simply left out the apple butter because the only jar I found at the grocery store cost $8, and I wasn’t about to pour $8 onto a crumb crust and cover it with cream cheese.  I am sure the apple butter would have been delicious, but they are wonderful without it as well.  Ben’s dad really liked them and suggested maybe raspberry jam instead of the apple butter, which I think would add a great tartness to this sweet bar.

The bottom crust is thick.  I would maybe take a little more of the crust mixture out and put it on top next time.  The original recipe calls for removing 1 1/2 cups of the mixture…I would take out 1 3/4 or even 2 cups.  After you bake the crust, you do not have to wait for it to cool completely.  I waited about 10 minutes before pouring on the cream cheese mixture.  If you plan to spread either apple butter or jam, you may want to wait a bit longer so that you don’t break the bottom crust while spreading.

The cream cheese filling is perfect as is; I wouldn’t change a thing.  I did use one low-fat package of cream cheese, and am sure using all low-fat would be fine.  So, I guess I did change one thing.

We ate these while they were still a little warm, and then the next day after chilling in the fridge.  I liked them both warm and cool, although the butter is chilled so much straight from the fridge that I feel it needs a few minutes to warm up before the flavor of the butter can really be appreciated.  Man, I love butter.

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