Banana Liqueur Cheesecake Bars

We had some bananas that were perfectly ripe and I had 2 bricks of cream cheese in the fridge for no particular reason, so I decided to do a cross between my Banana Cream Pie Bars, my Cranberry Cheese Squares and my Peppermint Mocha Kahlua Chocolate Chip Cheesecake (man, that was a long, dumb title, but a delicious cheesecake!)  These came out bomb... as I knew they would, because all three of those recipes are bomb!

It also helps that we live a block from a corner store... so it's quite easy to run down there and get some of those mini bottles of liqueur! 

This song was on in the car the other day.  I always feel like I need to smoke a pack of cloves before I attempt to sing it... heheh.  Alkaline Trio - Sleepyhead.  -jen
 

BANANA LIQUEUR CHEESECAKE BARS
Prep Time:  20 minutes
Cook Time:  45 minutes to cook, 1 hour to cool
Difficulty:  Medium
Makes: 18-24 squares

Crust:

• 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 6 tablespoons of butter, softened

Filling:

• 2 large bananas, sliced into 1/4"-thick rounds
• 1 pound (two 8oz bricks) cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs, room temp
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup banana liqueur (or 2 of the small 50ml "airplane" bottles) 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Coat a 9"x13" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

In a food processor, combine all of the crust ingredients and pulse several times until all flour is incorporated and mix is lumpy.  Spread evenly into prepared baking dish and then press it firmly into the pan and about 1" to 1.5" up the sides with your hand.  Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes.  Remove and set aside.  (This is called "blind baking".)  Leave oven on!

While crust is baking, place softened cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat until creamy using a stand mixer or hand mixer.  Add sugar and beat until combined.  Add eggs 1 at a time until combined.  Then add vanilla and banana liqueur, mix until smooth and creamy.

Layer sliced bananas over crust that's been blind baked, then pour batter evenly over the top.  Bake at 375 for 45 minutes until top is lightly browned and center is springy to the touch.  Let cool for 1 hour, then store in the refrigerator.

Option:  If you knew they were all going to be eaten right away, you could always make some homemade whipped cream (or Cool Whip, but I say go with the former!) and spread it over the entire top of the cooled dish.  I knew we'd have a bunch leftover to store in the fridge and I didn't want the whipped cream to melt over them all, so I just did it per serving.