Creamy Chocolate Streusel Bars

Today's wonderful chocolate sensation is brought to you by Eagle Brand. I found this recipe on their website. I was searching for a good use for my can of sweetened condensed milk. These bars are excellent! Absolutely delicious. They are easy to make but take a long time to cool. Since they have a cheesecake center, they have to be chilled for quite awhile so they can be sliced neatly and can be held in your hand. But after these were thoroughly chilled, they sliced into perfect squares so easily and were very sturdy. The recipe gave the option of walnuts, which I did not add but instead sprinkled some chocolate chips over the streusel top before I placed them in the oven. That was an excellent addition. The chips really added some good chunky texture on top. The one thing that I might change or try with these next time....I might make 1 1/2 times the cheesecake center or maybe even double the recipe for the cream cheese center. It was excellent as is, but it would be nice to sink my teeth into even more cheesecake!

This square was an outside edge in the pan. It was a perfect golden brown and tasted delicious!

Creamy Chocolate Streusel Bar

eaglebrand.com

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup cold butter
• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Instructions

• HEAT oven to 350ºF.
• COMBINE flour, powdered sugar and cocoa in large bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (mixture will be dry). Reserve 2 cups crumb mixture. Press remaining crumb mixture firmly onto bottom of 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
• BAKE 15 minutes. Beat cream cheese in large bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well. Pour evenly over partially baked crust. Combine reserved crumb mixture and walnuts. Sprinkle evenly over cheese mixture.
• BAKE 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbly. Cool. Chill. Cut into bars.