Apple Cheesecake Bars

I had exactly 3 apples in my fridge and they were glaring at me everytime I opened the fridge door. I was researching recipes online for Apple Muffins and I landed on Apple Streusel Cheesecake Bars. It's a Betty Crocker recipe that calls for boxed cookie mix and canned pie filling. I was not digging that. I wanted to go homemade all the way. So I whipped up an oatmeal cookie recipe for the crust portion, I semi-followed their cheesecake recipe, and made a homemade apple sauce for the filling. It seems like a lot of work, but it truly wasn't that bad. It helps that I've started to master the art of time management, at least in the kitchen, haha. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Crust:
2 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 1/2 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon

Cheesecake Filling:
2 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
2 eggs

Apple Filling:
3 apples, peeled, cored and diced into small pieces
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13x9 baking dish. In a large mixing bowl, cut butter into oatmeal and brown sugar until crumbly and combined. Add in egg, vanilla extract, flour, baking soda and cinnamon until well mixed. Press crust into bottom of prepared baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.

While crust is cooking, prepare apple filling. Place apples, apple juice, water and lemon juice in sauce pot. Cook on medium-high heat for 7-10 minutes, until apples are softened. Drain water/juices. Add brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Allow to cook on low until crust is done.

While apple filling is simmering, prepare cheesecake filling. Beat cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Add in vanilla extract, almond extract and eggs until well combined.

Remove crust from oven. Pour cheesecake filling over top. Pour apple filling over top of cheesecake filling. Bake in oven for another 35-40 minutes. Set in refridgerator for 2-4 hours to set. Enjoy!