Kara and I first saw this recipe probably a year ago and we both instantly started drooling. But we put off making it for a couple of reasons. First, it seemed like a lot of steps–crust, caramel, nuts, cheesecake, whip cream. Who has time for all that? And second, we needed a place to take it because it’d be dangerous sitting idle in our fridge. Lucky for us Kara’s friend Melissa’s birthday gave us an excuse to try this recipe!
Because we’d been eyeing this cheesecake for so long we had really really high expectations. I’ve eaten a lot of cheesecake in my lifetime so this one had a lot to live up to. Plus we’re kind of food snobs…I admit it.Since we changed several parts of the recipe we were semi nervous about it not turning out. We decided not to use a springform pan and instead opted for 2 pie dishes. We also tried to simplify the recipe a bit. We skipped the pecans and the whip cream layer because those parts weren’t important to us, all we really cared about was the cheesecake layer, the crust and the caramel apples. And the original recipe called for a homemade caramel sauce but we went with our favorite store bought kind: Trader Joe’s Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce. If you have not tried this caramel sauce you must do it. It’s. To. Die. For.So all in all this cheesecake was fabulous. I think Kara would agree that even though we eliminated a few steps the outcome was even better than we imagined. Since we got 2 pies out of this recipe we saved one for Thanksgiving dinner. Can’t wait!!
Here’s what you’ll need
Pulse the Teddy Grahams in a food processor
Combine the crumbs and the melted butter
Press the crumbs into the pie dishes and bake until golden brown
Pour in a layer of caramel sauce then refrigerate
Melt butter in a skillet then add brown sugar, cinnamon and salt
Stir to combine
Add apples and toss to coat
Cook apples until tender and most of the liquid has reduced
Pour the apples on top of the caramel layer
Ok now for the cheesecake. Beat the cream cheese until smooth
Add the vanilla
In goes the lemon
And the eggs. Beat until smooth. Almost done.
Add the cheesecake on top of the apples. Spread evenly
After it has baked and cooled you can drizzle on some caramel sauce, if desired
Yum!
This is a great pie for Thanksgiving 
Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 3/4 box Cinnamon Teddy Grahams
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- Store bought caramel sauce (we used Trader Joe’s Fleur deSel Caramel Sauce)
For the Apple Filling:
- 5 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 5-6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
For the Cheesecake:
- 16 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Start by making the crust. Preheat the oven to 375degrees F. Lightly spray 2 9-inch pie dishes with cooking spray. Use a foodprocessor to make crumbs out of the Cinnamon Teddy Grahams. Combine crumbs andmelted butter in a medium bowl and stir until the crumbs are evenly moistened.Transfer the mixture to the prepared pie dishes and press evenly into thebottom and sides. Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until golden in color. Let cool forabout 10 minutes.Once it’s cooled, pour a layer of caramel into the bottom ofthe crust. You can use about half a jar of caramel sauce for each pie butreserve about 2 tablespoons of the caramel sauce for the topping. Refrigeratethe crust while you make the filling. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees F.
- To make the apple filling, melt the butter in a largeskillet over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, salt and cinnamon and stir tocombine. Cook until gently bubbling, about 1 minute. Add the apples and toss tocoat. Cook until the apples are tender, and most of the liquid in the pan hasbeen reduced, about 15-20 minutes. Allow the apples to cool for a few minutesthen add them on top of the caramel layer.
- Next, start the cheesecake layer. In the bowl of a standmixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and sugar onmedium speed until smooth. Add the vanilla, eggs and lemon juice and beat untilincorporated and smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Pour the cheesecake batter over theapples and spread into an even layer. Bake until the cheesecake is set, about 30 minutes.
- Transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature,then refrigerate.
- Before serving, use a fork to drizzle oncaramel sauce over the cheesecake, if desired.