Here I am back with another apple dessert. Believe me I did not go crazy at the orchard this year and just bring home bushels upon bushels of apples or anything. But we had a spare apple or 2 left and this apple cheesecake tart is just too good not to make with farm fresh apples!
I'm really conflicted between which apple dessert is my favorite this year! I mean the Cardamom Ginger Apple Pie was really delicious but this apple cheesecake tart has a cookie crust! An almond shortbread cookie crust at that!
So about this delicious shortbread cookie crust. Just 5 simple ingredients, that you throw into a mixer and your crust will be ready to go in less than 10 minutes! Honestly, I was tempted to stop once the crust dough came together and bake some shortbread cookies, but I had already softened the cream cheese for the filling so I continued. This shortbread dough smells so good with the vanilla and almond extracts that I would not blame you if that's all you tried in this recipe!
Almond Shortbread Cookie Crust
- All Purpose Flour - Provides the structure to the dough
- Sugar - Reduce to ¼ cup if you want a less sweet crust
- Butter - it is super important to soften the butter at room temperature before making the crust dough
- Vanilla Extract - Optional but it adds such an amazing complimenting flavor to the apples and almonds
- Almond Extract - Super flavorful and such an amazing pairing with the apples!
Reduce the clean-up > Use the same bowl to make the filling!
Once the crust in baking in the oven, use the same mixing bowl and dump all of the cheesecake filling ingredients into it. By the time the crust is par-baked, your filling will be ready too. Its such an efficient use of time here.
Top the cheesecake filling with the cinnamon sugar apple slices. I like to overlap then apple slices by sticking them into the cheesecake filling, this way I was able to squeeze a ton more apples onto it. But feel free to arrange the apples however you like!
Note: I use a rectangular tart pan with a removable bottom and I was afraid that the butter from the crust would drip into the oven as it baked. So I baked the tart in my tart pan underneath a baking sheet. (Yes I truly dread cleaning my oven!!)
📖 Recipe
Apple Cheesecake Tart with Almond Shortbread Crust
Ingredients
Almond Shortbread Cookie Crust
- 1 cup flour
- ½ cup butter softened
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
Cheesecake Filling
- 8 ounce package of cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon Sugar Apples
- 2 cups apples peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg freshly grated
Topping
- 1 tablespoon sliced almonds
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°F.
- Combine all crust ingredients in bowl. Beat at medium speed until dough leaves sides of bowl and forms a ball. Press onto bottom of 14 in rectangular tart pan. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside for cheesecake filling.
- Combine all cheesecake filling ingredients into the same bowl. Beat at medium speed until smooth. Spread cheesecake mixture over crust.
- Place apple slices in another bowl. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg; toss to coat. Line apple slices along the top of the cheesecake filling.
- Bake for 40 minutes or until the filling is almost set. Top with the sliced almonds and bake for additional 10 minutes or until the filling is set.
- Cool completely before serving.
Nutrition
Adapted from Land O Lakes recipe
Amna
Omg this looks so good! I haven’t seen this combo before I’m going to try it out sometime. It Apple and cinnamon just sums up fall for me :)
Jill Patel
Thanks Amna! I know, I always think of apple pies as the only apple desserts but the cheesecake filling works so well with the cinnamon and apples, its great!!
Amy
I'm a bit of an apple fiend too and I love making both sweet and savoury dishes with them. this tart looks magnificent and it has so many of my favourite things in the one recipe! Definitely a project for the weekend!
Jill Patel
Thanks Amy! Try it out and its really delicious and actually comes together really quickly!!
Christie Gagnon
This looks AMAZIN!G! I don't have a tart pan though. Do you think it would work in a pie plate?
Jill Patel
Thanks Christie! Yes you can definitely use a pie plate. with the pie plate, you won't have to worry about the melted butter leaking out either! And you can line up the apple slices in a circular pattern instead!
Sunrita
A perfect time f to find this recipe. My daughter reacts to raw apples but she loves them. I am always looking at creative ways to serve diahes with baked apples. She will love this.
Jill Patel
Thanks Sunrita! My kids really loved this dish too! Its great because its a nice balance of sweet and tart!
Natalie
Gosh, this looks really amazing. How I wish for a slice of this tart right now. I will definitely save the recipe and make it over the weekend. I'm so looking forward to trying this.
Jill Patel
Thanks Natalie! It's actually an quick and easy dessert that just happens to look amazing!
Magali
Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe. It was delicious!
Jill Patel
Thanks Magali! So glad that you liked it, really appreciate the feedback!!
Crystal
Hi Jill! I'm going to try this recipe tomorrow! It looks so yummy. Question...do you put the tart in the refrigerator to cool or just let it cool on wire rack? Thank you!
Jill Patel
Hi Crystal! Thats great! I put the tart on a wire rack to cool if you're eating it that day (within a few hours). Any longer than 4 hours, just pop it in the refrigerator until you're ready to enjoy it. And store the leftovers in the fridge as well!