Pretzel Gingersnap Cheesecake Bars

These are unbelievably easy and tasty. The only hard part is you must wait for HOURS and HOURS for them to set-up before you can eat. But it's worth the wait. The pretzel flavor is subtle - a little toasty and salty to accompany the spicy-sweet gingersnaps. You can cut them into large squares and eat with a fork like a civilized human being or into smaller pieces (like tiny skyscrapers) and eat with your fingers on-the-go as you dash around making everything merry and bright.

Pretzel Gingersnap Cheesecake Bars

Makes 9 large or 18 small

Crust

8 oz. gingersnaps (about half a bag/box or 40 small cookies)

1 cup pretzels (look for ones with no added sugar/corn syrup)

1 stick butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350º

2. Butter and paper an 8 x 8 baking dish

3. Grind pretzels in a food processor until they resemble a rough flour (think cornmeal). Dump into a bowl. Put gingersnaps in the food processor and grind until fine. Add ground pretzels back in and pulse a few times to combine. Drizzle in melted butter while processor is running until everything comes together. Pat firmly into prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Filling

3 packages cream cheese (light or regular), room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

3 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Reduce oven to 325º

2. Clean out the bowl of your food processor and add cream cheese and sugar. Process until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, then flour and vanilla. Process until smooth, stopping once to scrape down sides of bowl.

3. Pour into prepared crust and bake for 30-40 minutes or until center does not jiggle when shaken. Cool on rack for 20 minutes then in refrigerator for 4-6 hours until completely set. Carefully lift out of pan, remove paper, cut and enjoy.