A rich, tasty dessert I made first a few weeks ago, but knew I could improve, so here we are with round two, a solid improvement with just a few tweaks! This would be a great dessert to bring to a cookout or potluck – it’s rich enough you only need a small piece, but good enough that even that little bit will be memorable!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar, divided
• 1 cup butter
• 1 8 ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 21 ounce cans strawberry pie filling (most any berry would probably actually be fine, or even a combo)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13″ pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, and 3/4 cup of the brown sugar. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is in very small pieces and the mixture is crumbly.

Reserve 1 cup of the flour mixture, and press the remaining mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl beat the cream cheese with the sweetened condensed milk until light and fluffy, then beat in the lemon juice.

In another medium bowl, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar, the cornstarch, and the strawberry pie filling, and stir until well mixed.

When the crust is baked, spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the crust.

Spread the strawberry mixture evenly on top of the cream cheese layer.

Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of the flour mixture over the strawberry layer.

Bake an additional 35-40 minutes, until the top is golden brown.

Let cool to room temperature before slicing, then store in the refrigerator.

Strawberry Cheesecake Bars

Adapted from AllRecipes.

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar, divided
• 1 cup butter
• 1 8 ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 21 ounce cans strawberry pie filling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13″ pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, and 3/4 cup of the brown sugar. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is in very small pieces and the mixture is crumbly. Reserve 1 cup of the flour mixture, and press the remaining mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl beat the cream cheese with the sweetened condensed milk until light and fluffy, then beat in the lemon juice. In another medium bowl, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar, the cornstarch, and the strawberry pie filling, and stir until well mixed.

When the crust is baked, spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the crust, followed by the strawberry mixture. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of the flour mixture over the strawberry layer. Bake an additional 35-40 minutes, until the top is golden brown.

Let cool to room temperature before slicing, then store in the refrigerator.