Sopapilla Cheesecake

Well, whaddya know?  I'm back and it's only been a week since my last post.  That is a remarkable improvement, wouldn't you say?  I've noticed a trend in my recipe posts.  Have you picked up on it yet?  I won't leave you in suspense too long, so I'll just tell you.  The recipes I have featured on my blog thus far have been mostly beige in color.  It's almost embarrassing.  You might as well call this Cheryl's Beige Food Blog. Well, I promise to add a bit of color next go round. What color should I shoot for?  Maybe, fuchsia?  I don't know, I'll work on it.

Today I am sharing with you yet another beige dish.  This one is called a Sopapilla Cheesecake.  It consists of only a handful of ingredients, but they are quite fabulous when mixed together.  I tripped across this tasty treat on a site called Pinterest.  Have you heard of it?  If you haven't, I urge you to stay far away from it, unless you actually have 12-hrs a day that you are needing kill, because it is highly addictive.  I'm talking 12 Step Program, addictive.  I'm talking let's schedule an intervention, addictive.  It is crack for the eyes...fabulous "pinned" pictures on any topic that you can imagine.   It is perfect for the food "pornagrapher" because while you are pretending to be interested in Shakespearean quotes cross-stitched onto pillows or an aqua toaster shaped liked a VW Minibus, you can secretly skim all the food photos and "pin" them onto your "Dirty Little Secrets" board for closer inspection at a later time devoid of watchful eyes.  That's how I found this little tastebud teaser.  I was dazzled by a rockin' photo of delicately combined carbs, fat, and sugar and decided to see where the attached link took me.  Once there, I found out that Sopapilla Cheesecake is very popular among the office potluck and church picnic circuits.  This led me to refer to my smarty pants friend, Google, to see what other recipes were floating around the Internet for this dish.

Low and behold, there were about a gazillion.  I settled on one I found on allrecipes.com and decided to give it a go.  None of them vary by much, but leave it to me to try the one that requires 3 packages of cream cheese rather than 2.  I'm pretty sure I chose the right one.      

Only a few ingredients needed to create something truly delicious.

The cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar get the honor of the first dance.  I throw in an egg just to make sure the cheesecake filling sets up properly.

One package of the crescent rolls adorns the bottom of the pan.  Pinch the seams together, then spread the cheesecake mixture on top.  

The second package tops the mixture.  Pinch these seams together, as well.

Ahhh, butter.  Right down over the top.  It might be bad for the heart, but it is good for the soul

Post butter bath.  

A nice coating of sugar and cinnamon as if the butter weren't enough.

Golden and delicious right out of the oven.

A drizzle of honey finishes this off perfectly and makes it taste like a cheesecake filled churro.

Sopapilla Cheesecake Recipe

3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese softened
1 egg
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 (8 oz) cans crescent roll dough

6 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350*.  Beat the cream cheese, egg, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl until smooth.  Lay one package of the crescent dough into the bottom of a 9 x 13 greased pan.  Pinch seams together.  Evenly spread the cheesecake mixture into the pan.  Lay the second package of crescent roll dough on top, again  pinching the seams together.  Brush the melted butter over the top, and sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon mixture.  Bake in the preheated oven until it turns golden brown, approximately 45 minutes.  Let cool completely before cutting.  Serves 12.