Strawberry Cheesecake Bars

Graham Cookie Dough

1. COMBINE graham crumbs, all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour; set aside.

2. MICROWAVE butter in medium microwaveable bowl on HIGH 30 sec. or until melted. Add brown sugar and egg; beat with mixer until well blended. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing well after each addition.

3. ROLL out dough into 9-inch square on lightly floured sheet of parchment paper; cover with sheet of plastic wrap. Use long edge of ruler to make gentle indentations in dough to mark off 18 (3x1-1/2-inch) rectangles.

4. SLIDE dough (with parchment paper) onto baking sheet. Refrigerate 30 min. or until dough is firm.

Cream Cheese Filling

1. HEAT oven to 375°F. Beat cream cheese and granulated sugar in medium bowl with mixer until blended. Add pudding mix and cornstarch; mix well. Add egg white; beat on low speed just until blended.

2. SPOON cream cheese mixture into piping bag fitted with medium (#12 or 5/8-inch-wide) tip. Use to pipe lengthwise 1-inch-wide strip of cream cheese mixture down center of each cookie dough rectangle.

3. USE tip of table knife to make shallow well in center of each cream cheese strip.

Topping

1. STIR jam; spoon into small piping bag. Cut small piece off bottom of bag, then squeeze jam into wells in cream cheese strips.

2. BAKE 12 min. or until cookie dough is slightly puffed and cheesecake filling is firm; cool completely.

3. MELT candy melts as directed on package; drizzle over bars.

4. REFRIGERATE 30 min. before serving.

Our Secret:

Our Strawberry Cheesecake Bars feature a graham cracker-cookie dough crust topped with a creamy cheesecake filling. It resembles an icebox cake that's made with cookies that are refrigerated until they form a cakelike texture. To more closely get a texture similar to that of our PHILADELPHIA Strawberry Cheesecake Snack Bars, we recommend serving these bars only after they have had time to soften in either the refrigerator or freezer.

Make It Easy:

Use marker to draw 9-inch square on sheet of parchment paper. Place the parchment paper, marked side down, on work surface. Place cookie dough on parchment. Roll out dough into the 9-inch square, following the lines on the parchment.

Important Note:

When piping the cream cheese mixture into strips down the centers of the cookie dough rectangles, you may need to pipe several strips of the cream cheese mixture down the center of each dough rectangle. These lines will be smoothed out when you use the table knife to make the wells in the cream cheese mixture in the next step.

Note:

These easy-to-make dessert bars can be refrigerated up to 24 hrs. before serving. Or for longer storage, wrap the bars tightly and freeze them up to 3 months. If frozen, place the bars in the refrigerator for 30 min. to thaw before serving.