Caramel Apple-Brownie Cheesecake

This is a perfect dessert for fall. Enjoy!

This recipe contains pecans, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, light brown sugar, unsalted butter, all-purpose flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, apples, , , unsalted butter, sugar, lemons, apples (granny smith), , light brown sugar, unsalted butter, heavy cream, honey, vanilla extract

Serves 8-12 servings

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 1 hr

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup pecans
• 2 (8-oz. or 227 grs.) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, divided and at room temperature
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups baking apples (e.g. Granny Smith or Cortland), peeled and diced**
• Caramel Apple Topping (recipe follows)
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 5 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick ( about 1.25 cm) wedges
• Caramel Sauce (recipe follows)
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract**

Instructions:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180° C). Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan for about 7-8 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.Remove from oven, let cool down, and chop. Reserve.
• 2. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F (about 160° C). Grease and flour a 9-inch (22.5 cm) spring-form pan. Sprinkle pecans over bottom of the prepared pan and reserve.
• 3. In a heavy-duty electric stand mixer, beat cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla at medium speed until well-blended and smooth. Add 3 eggs (1 at a time), beating after each addition until just blended. Reserve.
• 4. In a separate large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, melted butter, and remaining egg until blended.
• 5. Then stir in the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Add the peeled and diced apples to the mixture and stir gently.
• 6. Spoon batter into prepared pan.
• 7. Carefully spoon cream cheese mixture over batter.
• 8. Bake at 325°F ( about 160° C) for 70 minutes or until set.
• 9. Remove from oven, and gently run a knife around outer edge of cheesecake to loosen from sides of pan but do NOT remove sides of pan.
• 10. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack for about 2 hours.
• 11. Remove side of the pan and transfer to a serving plate.
• 12. Meanwhile, prepare Caramel Apple Topping and Caramel Sauce. Spoon topping over cheesecake; drizzle with 1/2 cup Caramel Sauce. Reserve 1 cup Caramel Sauce to drizzle over the cheesecake later if you have not served the whole dessert at once.
• 13. For the Caramel Apple Topping:
• 14. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter; then, add both the sugar and lemon juice.
• 15. Cook, stirring constantly with a long-handled wooden spoon, for 5 to 6 minutes or until mixture turns a light golden brown.
• 16. Add the apple wedges and cook, stirring often, for 15 to 18 additional minutes or until apples are tender and caramelized.
• 17. Remove from heat and let cool for 20 minutes.
• 18. Meanwhile, prepare Caramel Apple Topping and Caramel Sauce. Spoon topping over cheesecake; drizzle with 1/2 cup Caramel Sauce. Reserve 1 cup Caramel Sauce to drizzle over the cheesecake later if you have not served the whole dessert at once.
• 19. For the Caramel Sauce:
• 20. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the brown sugar, butter, whipping cream, and honey to a boil, stirring constantly; then, boil — stirring constantly– for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla, and cool 15 minutes before serving.
• 21. ** Store any leftovers in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 week. To reheat, microwave at HIGH 10 to 15 seconds or just until warm; stir until smooth.