Caramel-Pecan Cheesecake Bars

These bars are similar to Turtle Cheesecake. I got the recipe out of Kraft Foods magazine and everyone loved them! They do take some advance planning because they have to cool before adding the topping and then they need to refrigerate at least 4 hours before eating, but they are worth it! Tip: Make sure that you let them cool completely before adding the caramel. I did not do this, and the caramel ended up liquifying a bit a some of the bars got soggy.



What You'll Need:
1 cup Pecan pieces, divided
1 1/2 cups crushed Nilla Wafers (about 50 wafers)
1/2 stick butter, melted
4 (8 oz.) packages Cream cheese, softened
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Sour Cream
3 Tbsp. Flour
1 Tbsp. Vanilla
4 Eggs
24 Kraft Caramels, unwrapped
1 Tbsp. Water
3 squares Baker's Semi-sweet baking chocolate

What You'll Do:
Preheat oven to 325.
Line 9 X 13 baking dish with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of dish.
Remove 1/2 the pecans and set aside. Finely chop remaining pecans.
Mix wafer crumbs, chopped pecans and butter. Press firmly onto bottom of prepared dish. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Beat cream cheese and sugar in mixer on medium speed until well blended.
Add sour cream, flour, and vanilla. Mix well.
Add eggs one at a time on low speed just until blended.
Pour into crust.
Bake 45 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool competely.
Place caramels and water into microwaveable bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute or until completely melted when stirred.
Pour over cooled cheesecake.
Top with reserved pecans.
Melt chocolate as directed on package and drizzle over cheesecake.
Refrigerate at least 4 hours. Use foil handles to remove from dish before cutting into pieces.