Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

The peak week of Summer at Sonic. I have been at the Sonic for fourteen months now — since June 2016, since the Saturday I clocked in at eleven in the morning in a polo that did not yet smell like fryer grease — and this week was the week the job became something I want to write down, in pen, on the front page of the next section of the green notebook.

Carlos sat me down in the back office at the Sonic on Tuesday afternoon at three-fifteen, after the after-school cherry-limeade rush had wound down and before the four-to-eight rush started. He had asked me to come into the office before my shift. I had spent the morning at the public library writing my homework for tomorrow and had walked into the Sonic at three already a little nervous. Carlos in the office on a Tuesday afternoon is not a casual conversation. Carlos in the office means somebody is getting talked to.

I sat down. Carlos sat down across from me. He had a small printed sheet of paper in his hand. He looked at me. He said, very directly, Kaylee, you are the best inside-kitchen employee we have had in eight years. He paused. He said, I want to offer you a small promotion.

The promotion was shift lead in training. The shift lead in training is a step toward eventually becoming the shift lead, which is a step toward eventually becoming the assistant manager. The shift-lead-in-training role pays $9.75 an hour, which is fifty cents more than my current rate. The role gives me responsibility for opening or closing prep on the shifts I work alone with no manager on duty — which the corporate franchise has been allowing for sixteen-year-olds with at least a year of tenure since last spring. Carlos said the long-term path is assistant manager once I turn eighteen, with my own shifts to run.

I did not say anything for a few seconds. The offer was the kind of thing that, two years ago, I would not have believed was possible. Two years ago I was fourteen years old, in a kitchen at home, making pinto beans for two dollars, with my brother sliding into the wrong house on North Peoria. Today I am sixteen years old, in a back office in a Sonic in Broken Arrow, being offered a path to assistant manager by a man named Carlos Mendoza who has decided I am the best inside-kitchen employee he has had in eight years.

I said yes. Carlos shook my hand. The promotion starts Monday.

And the recipe Sunday was salted caramel apple cheesecake bars, which is a Mel’s Kitchen Cafe one I had been holding for the right milestone for two months. The milestone was this week. So I made them.

The recipe is a four-layer dessert: a graham cracker crust on the bottom, a baked cheesecake filling, a cinnamon-spiced sauteed apple layer, and a homemade salted caramel sauce drizzled on top. The dessert is the kind that magazines run on the cover of the September issue, and that I had not believed I could pull off until Sunday. Sunday I pulled it off.

The math: a sleeve of graham crackers $1.49, a brick of cream cheese $1.99, a cup of sugar $0.20, three eggs $0.24, two Granny Smith apples $1.20, a half cup of brown sugar $0.20, butter and heavy cream from the kitchen for the caramel, salt, vanilla, cinnamon. Total: about $5.40 for a 9-by-13 pan that fed Mama and me for four desserts.

The technique is the four-layer assembly. Crush the graham crackers in a food processor with melted butter and a tablespoon of sugar, press into the bottom of a parchment-lined 9-by-13 pan, bake at 350 for ten minutes. Whisk softened cream cheese with the sugar, eggs, and vanilla, pour over the cooled crust, bake at 325 for thirty minutes until set. Saute peeled and sliced apples in butter and brown sugar and cinnamon for ten minutes until tender. Spread the apple layer over the cooled cheesecake. Drizzle with the homemade salted caramel from the technique I learned in March. Refrigerate four hours minimum. Cut into bars.

The bars came out of the fridge Sunday at six. Mama and I sat at the kitchen table and ate one each. Mama said, after the first bite, baby, this is the kind of dessert restaurants charge eight dollars for. I said, I know, Mama. She said, congratulations on the promotion. I said, thank you, Mama. The two of us sat at the table for a long time. The dessert was the prop. The promotion was the moment.

The recipe is below. The trick is the four layers and the patience — do not skip the four-hour fridge time. The bars cut cleanly only after they have set. Make this for a milestone of your own.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr 5 min (plus 2 hr chilling) | Servings: 16 bars

Ingredients

Crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Cheesecake Filling
16 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream
Spiced Apple Layer
2 medium apples (Granny Smith or Honeycrisp), peeled and diced small
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Salted Caramel Finish
1/2 cup caramel sauce (store-bought or homemade)
1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt

Instructions

Prep the pan. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line a 9x9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang on two sides so you can lift the bars out cleanly.
Make the crust. Stir together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter until the mixture looks like wet sand. Press it firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 8 minutes, then set aside to cool slightly while you make the filling.
Cook the apples. In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the diced apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5—6 minutes until the apples are just tender and coated in a light caramel glaze. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.
Make the cheesecake filling. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until completely smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on low after each addition just until combined. Mix in the vanilla and sour cream. Do not overmix.
Assemble. Pour the cheesecake filling over the baked crust and spread it into an even layer. Spoon the cooked apples evenly over the top of the filling.
Bake. Bake at 325°F for 38—45 minutes, until the center is just barely set and no longer jiggles like liquid. The edges will be slightly puffed. Do not overbake.
Cool and chill. Let the bars cool completely at room temperature, then transfer to the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (overnight is better). The chilling step is not optional—it’s what makes the texture right.
Finish and slice. Use the parchment overhang to lift the slab out of the pan onto a cutting board. Drizzle generously with caramel sauce and sprinkle the flaky sea salt evenly across the top. Slice into 16 bars with a sharp knife, wiping the blade clean between cuts.

Nutrition (per serving)

Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars — The Peak-Summer-at-Sonic Promotion-Week Dessert