Creamy Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars

Crust

1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C and line a 9-inch X 13-inch pan with parchment paper and grease with non-stick baking spray.
2. In a small bowl, combine crushed graham cracker crumbs, granulated sugar, and pecans. Once evenly combined, add melted butter to the crumbs. Mix until a wet sand texture is formed. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 5-8 minutes to set the crust. Let cool on a wire rack and reduce oven temperature to 325F/ 163C.

Cheesecake

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with a hand-held electric mixer, beat the cream cheese for 3 minutes at low speed. It should be smooth with no lumps. Add the sugars and salt then beat for another 2 minutes on low speed. Add the sour cream and vanilla extract- mixing until fully combined. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is evenly combined.
2. Add in the eggs two at a time, mixing well after each addition.  You should have a creamy batter with no lumps and no signs of egg yolk. Pour into the prepared pan and gently tap on the counter to encourage any air bubbles to come to the top, use a toothpick to pop any bubbles.
3. Place the cheesecake bars in the oven on the middle rack, then place a large pan filled with hot water on the bottom rack. This helps create a steamy, moist environment for the cheesecake to bake in which helps prevent cracks.
4. Bake for 30- 35 minutes, the middle 2-3 inches of the cheesecake should jiggle just a little bit. I like to use an instant-read thermometer to check the internal temperature is 150F-155F or  65C-68C.
5. Turn the oven off and open the door, but let the cheesecake cool in the oven for 45 minutes - 1 hour, then cool it on a wire rack for another hour. Then wrap the cheesecake with plastic wrap. Let chill in the fridge overnight or for at least 6 hours.

Pecan Pie Topping

1. In a large heavy bottomed pot over low medium heat add the butter, sugar, salt, and corn syrup. Mixing until all melted and evenly combined, continuously mix and cook for 3-4 minutes. Slowly add the heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time, whisking to evenly combine. You must take your time with this so the cream can blend with the caramel.
2. Once all the heavy cream is added let the mixture bubble up and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
3. Take off the heat and add the ground cinnamon and vanilla extract. Add in roasted pecans and gently stir to evenly coat. Let the mixture rest for 30 minutes to thicken.
4. Pour the pecan sauce on top of the chilled cheesecake and add whipped cream. The caramel sauce will harden if left in the fridge, so ideally, pour this on just before serving the cheesecake. The pecan caramel sauce can be made up to 1 hour ahead of time and kept at room temperature. Store all leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. The caramel pecan sauce will harden and make it harder to slice, but still taste great!