Chocolate & Cheesecake Bars
At school we do a weekly Friday Breakfast. Every Friday we have about a 1/2 dozen people scheduled to bring in goodies. These breakfast treats range from store-bought bakery items, cut fruits, & bagels to homemade treats ranging from award winning desserts to egg casseroles and everything in between! Last time I was on for breakfast I made an awesome cheese apple sausage egg casserole (over bread – soaked overnight). I like to experiment & my co-workers are good test-subjects (who will admit that as well). I also wanted to try something sweet after watching Sandra Lee make these “Red Velvet Bars”. The ingredients were all things I had on hand (I saw no need for the whole food coloring thing) & the results tasted so much more difficult than it was.
Ingredients
For Cake:
- 1 box German Chocolate [or whatever] cake mix
- 1 softened stick butter
- 1 egg
- [1 ounce red food coloring]
For Cream Cheese Layer:
- 16 ounces cream cheese [I use low fat – works fine]
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 9 by13-inch baking pan lightly with cooking spray & set aside. In mixing bowl: beat with mixer on low speed… cake mix, butter, & egg [and food coloring] until combined. Press cake mixture into prepared pan; set aside. In medium/large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat to combine. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake layer. Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until bars barely start to pull away from sides. Cool completely before cutting.