eat your heart out thursday - cranberry cheesecake bars

as mentioned before, cinnamon and i don't get along. at this time of year at least half of all treats made are bursting with it. i found an amazing recipe to provide a safe dessert to the thankgiving smorgasbord last week. my new favorite dessert is cranberry cheesecake bars. it is the quickest, easiest, most delicious cheesecake dish ever.


2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups quick or old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
2 cups (12 ounce package) white chocolate chips
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) can whole-berry cranberry sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
2. combine flour, oats and brown sugar in large bowl. add butter; mix until crumbly. stir in chocolate chips. reserve 2 1/2 cups morsel mixture for topping. with floured fingers, press remaining mixture into prepared pan.
3. beat cream cheese in large mixer bowl until creamy. add sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and vanilla extract; mix until smooth. pour over crust. combine cranberry sauce and cornstarch in medium bowl. spoon over cream cheese mixture. sprinkle reserved morsel mixture over cranberry mixture.
4. bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until center is set. cool completely in pan on wire rack. cover and refrigerate until serving time (up to 1 day). cut into bars.

makes 30 bars