Peaches & Cream Cheesecake Bars

Our peach tree has been incredible this year! We were able to bottle over 40 quarts of peaches, 14 pints of jam, and have been eating them fresh for weeks. Every day I dream of making a warm peach cobbler until I remember my husband hates warm fruit. Is that strange or what? No pineapple on your pizza, now that's a shame! Well, I decided to come up with a recipe that would combine cobbler flavors with the cool and refreshing flavor of a cheesecake. The combo was scrumptious! If you happen to have any hot fruit haters in your life... try this dessert. It is bound to satisfy everyone's cravings.

Peaches & Cream Cheesecake Bars
Crust:
1 1/2 c. oats
3/4 c. flour
1/4 c. chopped almonds or pecans
2 sticks butter softened
3/4 c. brown sugar
Dash salt

Cream cheese layer:
2 (8 oz.) cream cheese
2 heaping T. peach jam
1 t. lemon juice
2 eggs
2 t. flour

Peach Topping:
1 c. + 2 T. pureed peaches
1 c. sugar
1/4 t. almond extract
1/2 c. cold water
3 T cornstarch
2 T butter
6-7 c. sliced fresh peaches, peeled
1 t. lemon juice

Oat Crumble Topping (use the crumble from the Pumpkin Oatmeal)

For the crust, mix together the softened butter, oats, flour, almonds and brown sugar. Once combined, press the crust evenly into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until crust is slightly browned. While the crust is cooking, cream together the cream cheese layer until smooth. Once the crust is cooked, spread the cream cheese layer on top of the crust and continue baking for 20-25 minutes or until cream layer is set and cooked through.

Peach topping: in a sauce pan on low heat, whisk together the sugar, cold water, pureed peaches, cornstarch, lemon juice and butter together until smooth. Continue simmering until topping begins to thicken. Once thickened, remove from heat and add the almond extract and freshly sliced peaches. Place the peach topping in the fridge to keep cool until ready to spread over cheesecake.

Once the cheesecake is completely cooled (you can also place this in the fridge), spread over the top the peach topping. Add the oat crumble on top and keep the cheesecake cool until ready to slice and serve. Serve cold.