Cheesecake? Yes, please.

Pesty Melanie here with a fabulous recipe for a yummy holiday treat. If you're anything like me, you find yourself making a LOT of treats in December. I'm always looking for new recipes to try and hoping to find some new favorites.  Last month I was in charge of the faculty birthday treats from the PTA at my kids' elementary school, and I decided it was the perfect chance to try out some new ones.  So I pulled out my Bake Sale Cookbook (my favorite cookbook ever) and started searching for mouthwatering treats.  Cheesecake bars sounded like they'd be a hit, and they were.  When I went back to the school later that day to clean up, there wasn't even a crumb left on the platter!

They look scrumptious, right?  I used THIS fabulous hybrid template to make the cards I labeled them with.  I can't show you those yummy treats without sharing the recipe, so if you're looking for some fabulous cheesecake bars for your December treats, I highly recommend this one.  Enjoy!

Cherry Cheese Bars
Base:
1 c walnut pieces, divided
1-1/4 c flour
1/2 c brownie sugar
1/2 butter
1/2 c coconut

Filling:
2 pkg (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
2/3 c sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling*

Heat oven to 350.  Grease 13x9x2-inch pan.  Chop 1/2 c nuts coarsely.  Reserve for topping.  Chop remaining 1/2 c nuts finely.  For base, combine flour and brown sugar in medium bowl.  Cut in 1/2 c butter until fine crumbs forom.  Add 1/2 c finely chopped nuts and coconut.  Mix well.  Resreve 1/2 c crumbs for topping.  Press remaining crumbs in bottom of pan.  Bake at 50 for 12-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.  Do not overbake.  For filling, combine cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in small bowl.  Beat at medium speed until well blended.  Spread over hot baked base.  Return to oven.  Bake 15 minutes.  Do not overbake.  Spread cherry* pie filling over cheese layer.  Combine reserved coarsely chopped nuts and reserved crumbs.  Spinkle over pie filling.  Return to oven.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Do not overbake.  Cool in pan on cooling rack.  Refrigerate several hours.  Cut into 2-1/2 inch bars.  Makes 3 dozen.

*You can substitute another flavor pie filling for the cherry pie filling.  I didn't want big chunks of cherries, so I used a hand blender to puree the pie filling first.