If you like churros or sopapillas, you are going to love this sopapilla cheesecake recipe! With a sweetened cream cheese filling sandwiched between layers of crescent rolls and topped with buttery cinnamon sugar, these cheesecake bars are a fun and delicious twist on sopapillas, a traditional dessert originating in New Mexico.
Serve this crowd-friendly treat at potlucks, housewarming parties, or as a weekend treat. Drizzle the bars with honey or dollop with whipped cream for a classic sopapilla presentation if desired, but this tasty treat is more than perfectly sweet and cinnamony as-is. Either way, this easy recipe is as delicious to eat as it is fun to make. Make my sopapilla cheesecake bar recipe today! For more cheesecake recipes, check out my mango cheesecake recipe, turtle cheesecake, and peanut butter cheesecake.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Cream Cheese – full-fat plain cream cheese is the best pick. Bring the cream cheese to room temperature for 1-2 hours before starting the recipe, or until the unwrapped block of cheese can be easily indented when pressed gently but firmly with your finger.
Crescent Rolls – you will need two cans of refrigerated crescent rolls. If possible, use crescent roll dough sheets to save on pinching the precut crescent roll seams together.
Egg – bring a large egg to room temperature before whipping up the cheesecake filling. A room-temperature egg is less viscous than a cool one, resulting in a well-blended, light, and delightfully creamy filling. To quickly bring an egg to room temperature, place it in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes.
Unsalted Butter – choose unsalted butter, as brands add differing amounts of salt to their salted varieties. Melt the butter on low heat in the microwave or stovetop, covering the butter with a lid or paper towel if melting it in the microwave so it doesn’t splatter. Let the butter cool for a few minutes before pouring on the crescent roll dough, or until it is warm but not hot to the touch.
Cinnamon – ground cinnamon adds sweet spice to the sopapilla cheesecake bars, so choose cinnamon that has a good expiration date for the best flavor. Traditional ground cinnamon is perfect for this recipe, but Saigon cinnamon adds robust cinnamon notes for cinnamon lovers if you have it on hand.
How to Make Sopapilla Cheesecake
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Unroll one can of crescent rolls into the bottom of the baking dish, stretching and pressing to the edges of the pan. Pinch the perforated seams together, if precut, so the filling doesn’t leak through the bottom of the crust if needed.
2. Add the cream cheese and sugar to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
3. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat the cream cheese filling mixture with a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed until creamy and combined, about 2 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
4. Spread the cream cheese mixture into an even layer over the top of the dough.
5. Unroll the other package of crescent rolls onto a lightly floured surface. Pinch the seams together if needed. Lightly flour the top and use a rolling pin to roll it into a 9×13-inch rectangle. Carefully roll the dough up onto the rolling pin, then unroll it over the top of the cream cheese layer. Pinch any seams together that may have come apart. Brush the top dough sheet with melted butter.
6. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining ½ cup of sugar and the cinnamon. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the buttered dough. Bake for 30 minutes, until the crust is puffed and golden brown and the cheesecake filling jiggles just slightly when gently shaken. Let cool for 30 minutes before serving warm with a drizzle of honey, if desired.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Use a metal baking pan. Though a glass pan works in a pinch, metal will more efficiently conduct the heat, baking these bars evenly and crisping up the crescent rolls nicely.
- Pinch the seams of the crescent rolls or use crescent sheets. To keep the cheesecake filling from seeping through the crust, you will need to pinch the seams of the crescent rolls when stretching it into the pan and rolling it into the top sheet. If available, use sheets of crescent roll dough, which are solid and not precut, saving on any time and hassle.
- Adjust the cinnamon sugar ratio to your liking. For enhanced cinnamon flavor, increase the ground cinnamon to 1½ or even 2 teaspoons; for a more mild flavor, reduce to ¾ teaspoons.
- Use the cheesecake “jiggle” test. To be sure that the sopapilla cheesecake is baked through, give the pan a gentle shake. When the cheesecake is underbaked and not set yet, the whole cheesecake will wobble. You will know that is set when the center jiggles just slightly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftover bars covered tightly with plastic wrap or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. They can also be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. For the easiest defrosting, freeze the bars with squares of parchment paper between them. Defrost in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or until thawed through.
Serve this cinnamon-spiced cheesecake warm with a drizzle of honey, a squirt of whipped cream, a scoop of ice cream, or even fresh juicy berries as a dessert or afternoon treat any day of the week. This dessert is fantastic served with hot tea or coffee, a glass of cold milk, or even Mexican hot chocolate.
You can most certainly make this recipe with homemade dough. Though refrigerated is perfectly flaky and delicious for this recipe, homemade will definitely elevate this treat to the next level! To do so, use my crescent roll recipe to make the dough, rolling it out and using it as directed after it has risen until doubled.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this sopapilla cheese recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Sopapilla Cheesecake
Equipment
- 9×13 baking dish
- Mixing Bowls
- Electric hand or stand mixer
Ingredients
- 2 (8-ounce/226g) cans refrigerated crescent rolls
- 2 (8-ounce/226g) blocks cream cheese softened
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar divided (250g)
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted (85g)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Unroll one package of crescent rolls into the bottom of the baking dish, stretching and pressing to the edges of the pan. Pinch the perforated seams together so the filling doesn’t leak through the bottom of the crust, if needed.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, ¾ cup of sugar, egg, and vanilla together on medium speed until creamy and combined, about 2 minutes. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the top of the dough.
- Unroll the other package of crescent rolls onto a lightly floured surface. Pinch the seams together. Lightly flour the top and use a rolling pin to roll it into a 9×13-inch rectangle. Carefully roll the dough up onto the rolling pin, then unroll it over the cream cheese layer. (Pinch any seams together that may have come apart.) Brush the top dough sheet with melted butter.
- In a small bowl, stir together the remaining ½ cup of sugar and the cinnamon. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the buttered dough.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until the crust is puffed and golden brown and the cheesecake filling jiggles just slightly when gently shaken. Let cool for 30 minutes before serving warm with a drizzle of honey, if desired. Leftovers should be cooled completely, covered with plastic wrap, and refrigerated for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Use a metal baking pan. Though a glass pan works in a pinch, metal will more efficiently conduct the heat, baking these bars evenly and crisping up the crescent rolls nicely.
- Pinch the seams of the crescent rolls or use crescent sheets. To keep the cheesecake filling from seeping through the crust, you will need to pinch the seams of the crescent rolls when stretching it into the pan and rolling it into the top sheet. If available, use sheets of crescent roll dough, which are solid and not precut, saving on any time and hassle.
- Adjust the cinnamon sugar ratio to your liking. For enhanced cinnamon flavor, increase the ground cinnamon to 1½ or even 2 teaspoons; for a more mild flavor, reduce to ¾ teaspoons.
- Use the cheesecake “jiggle” test. To be sure that the sopapilla cheesecake is baked through, give the pan a gentle shake. When the cheesecake is underbaked and not set yet, the whole cheesecake will wobble. You will know that is set when the center jiggles just slightly.
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