Arlington Bars

Desserts are my weakness. They are my favorite thing to make and my favorite thing to eat. When I find a recipe that combines elements of multiple desserts, I have a heyday. Cake and ice cream? Yes please! Brownies and cookies? Oh yeah! S'mores and any other dessert? I've died and gone to heaven! These Arlington Bars combine chocolate chip cookie dough AND cheesecake. Yes, I'm serious.

You might be wondering how this spectacular creation got its name. Long story short, I made these delights for a baby shower at work and they were a big hit. One of my coworkers (Hi Brian!) cleverly named them the Arlington Bars because "they are awesome like Arlington". If you don't live in D.C. or have never been to visit, just trust me. Arlington is the place to be, so this recipe rightfully acquired that name.

These decadent bars are as delicious as they look. Chewy cookie dough stocked full of chocolate chips sandwich a layer of creamy cheesecake batter-how could this not be good?

Arlington Bars (adapted from Baking Bites)
(16 bars)

10 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 ounces chocolate chips
optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

8 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x9 square baking dish with foil; lightly spray the foil with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in vanilla extract. Add flour, soda, and salt, mixing until dry ingredients are just incorporated, careful not to over-mix. Fold  the chocolate chips into the batter (if using walnuts, fold those in now). Set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream together cream cheese and sugar. Add egg and mix until well incorporated. Stir in vanilla.

Press about 2 cups of the cookie dough onto the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Pour cheesecake mixture over top. Break up remaining cookie dough and evenly disperse over cheesecake layer. Bake until cheesecake is set and cookie dough turns golden brown, about 35 minutes. Cool completely before removing from pan and cutting into bars.

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Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 16
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 342.4
Total Fat: 17.4 g
Cholesterol: 53.3 mg
Sodium: 144.1 mg
Total Carbs: 49.3 g
Fiber: 1.7 g
Sugars: 36.0 g
Protein: 4.6 g

Pros:
-Combines two amazing desserts: chocolate chip cookies and cheesecake!
-Rich and decadent
-Easy to make
-Total prep and bake time of an hour
-Crowd pleaser

Cons:
-Caloric and high in fat

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

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