When I first saw this recipe, I made a special trip to the grocery store to get the ingredients to try it out immediately. OMG! Easy and oh-so-good! And yes, the picture does feature the one I made. That’s one of my “antique” turquoise marble Formica countertop as background. LOL They’re original to the house, which was built in 1964. I love the darn things. Anyway, I cut the final product for the 12 piece yield. Next time, I’ll only cut it for 8 (or 6 – LOL) bars because 2 small ones just aren’t enough. They are that tasty. And very light, not heavy or filling.

Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook time: 30 Minutes
Total time: 40 min.
Makes 12 Bars

Ingredients
Two 8-ounce cans crescent rolls
Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 1/3 cups sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Instructions
1 – Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2 – Beat the cream cheese, vanilla, egg and 1 cup of the sugar with a mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Cream cheese must be at room temperature.

3 – Unroll one can of crescent roll dough and lay it in the bottom of a 9″ x 13″ glass baking dish. Use your fingers to press the dough evenly into the bottom of the dish. Pinch the perforations to seal if they are pulled apart.

4 – Spread the cream cheese mixture over the first layer of dough with a spatula.

5 – Unroll a few inches of the second can of dough before transferring to the top of the cream cheese layer. Gently unroll the rest of the dough, stretching slightly to the sides as you go to cover the cream cheese. Pinch any large gaps in the perforations. There’s no need to seal or smooth small seams completely.

6 – Melt the butter and pour on top of the dough. Spread evenly over the top crust. (I used a silicone pastry brush but any pastry brush, spatula, or the back of a spoon with work.

7 – Sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup sugar over the top of the dough and then the cinnamon until evenly covered.

8 – Bake for 30 minutes or until the dough is baked through and the cinnamon and sugar have gotten slightly crusty.

9 – Cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting. The bars can also be cooled completely, or even refrigerated before cutting and serving.

Tips:

1. For easy cutting, chill the pan first. If you prefer these bars warm, heat your serving in the microwave for a few seconds.
2.  The bars are tasty and seet as is, but traditional sopapillas are served with honey and if that’s your preference, drizzle honey over the top of your square.
3. This can be served at the temperature of your choice–warm, cold, or at room temperature.

My thoughts: I just let the pan cool naturally. I made the recipe about 4 pm and we had them for dessert about 7:00. We aren’t that big on honey and the bars are sweet enough without more. I covered the pan but did not refrigerate.

I’m not the only one who like fast dessert results that are easy and yummylicious. Geneva Pruitt , the heroine of NIGHT WISH is a woman who enjoys her food–making AND eating. She’s added this dessert to the Nightrider bonfire nights. Wizard always complains about how many pans he has to carry from their house to her car then from the parking lot around back at the clubhouse but Gen always rewards him by leaving one pan at home just for him. She puts a couple back in the kitchen for the old ladies, and the kids get one to share among themselves. Noah and Noni (Sam and Easy’s “kids” – NIGHT SHIFT) and Lainey’s twin brothers (Louie and Levi – NIGHT MOVES) are all in. They don’t bother dishing it up. They just grab spoons and each takes a corner. They meet somewhere in the middle. If you are interested in any of these stories, just click on the title for the Books2Read buy link. For NIGHT WISH, you can also click on either picture with the cover. What about y’all? Do you like sopapillas? And/or cheesecake?