This Sopapilla Cheesecake is the perfect combination of light and airy crescent roll dough, creamy cheesecake filling and cinnamon sugar topping!
This Sopapilla Cheesecake is one of the tastiest and most addicting desserts I’ve ever made. No joke. I had to freeze half the batch because I knew I’d eat them all if I didn’t!
They’re the perfect combination of light and airy dough filled with a creamy and sweet cheesecake filling and topped with cinnamon sugar. There’s literally not a single thing about this sopapilla cheesecake recipe I would change, and I’m so excited for you to try them! A word of warning – they’re highly addicting so proceed with caution.
What are sopapillas?
Traditional New-Mexican sopapillas are a fried pastry that’s covered in cinnamon sugar, drizzled with honey and eaten for dessert. When fried, the pastry often puffs up and creates a big air pocket in the middle, making the sopapillas very pillow-like.
Here’s a recipe for traditional fried sopapillas.
For this recipe, I’m achieving the pillow-like light and airy texture by using 2 rolls of refrigerated crescent roll dough. Not only does using the pre-made dough make this recipe much easier to make, but it also doesn’t need to be fried like traditional sopapillas.
Sopapilla and Cheesecake – the best of both worlds
What’s better than buttery dough covered in cinnamon sugar? An easy cheesecake filling sandwiched in between TWO SHEETS of buttery dough covered in cinnamon sugar!
The cheesecake filling is super easy to make – just mix together cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt.
How to make sopapilla cheesecake
Make the cinnamon sugar: Mix together sugar and ground cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.
Make the cheesecake filling: Add cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt to a large mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, combine all the ingredients together until smooth.
Assemble the cheesecake: Open one can of crescent roll dough and lay it into a rectangular 9×13 baking dish that’s been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Making sure to stretch out the dough to reach all the edges of baking dish. Pinch together the perforations of the dough with your fingers so that it’s sealed and makes one solid sheet.
Spread the cream cheese mixture in an even layer on top of the dough. Open the second can of crescent roll dough, lay it out on a sheet of parchment paper and pinch together the perforations just like the first can of dough. Place the dough on top of the cream cheese seam side down.
Bake: Brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle with prepared cinnamon sugar. Bake for about 30 minutes in a 350°F oven until dough is golden and cooked through. Let cool and slice into 12 squares.
Freezer-friendly dessert
One of my favorite things about these cheesecake bars is that they’re freezer-friendly! I currently have half a batch in my freezer for those times when I need a quick sweet treat. Aka everyday.
If you’re only feeding a few people and have some bars left over, here’s how to freeze them.
Simply let the bars cool completely and then place them in a freezer-safe zip-top bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to eat them, simply take them out of the freezer bag, place them on a plate and defrost them in the fridge or in the microwave.
More dessert recipes you’ll love
- Tres Leches Cake
- Margarita Cheesecake Bars
- Black Bean Blender Brownies
- Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips
Ingredients
- nonstick cooking spray
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 8-inch tubes refrigerated crescent roll dough
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray or grease with cooking oil.
- Mix together sugar and ground cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Add cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt to a large mixing bowl. Using a hand or stand mixer, mix together all the ingredients until mostly smooth.
- Open one can of crescent roll dough and lay it into the prepared baking dish, making sure to stretch it to reach all the edges of baking dish. Pinch together the perforations of the dough with your fingers so that it's sealed and makes one solid sheet. Do the best you can - if there are still a few holes here and there, it's okay.
- Spread the cream cheese mixture in an even layer on top of the dough.
- Open the second can of crescent roll dough, lay it out on a sheet of parchment paper and pinch together the perforations just like the first can of dough. Remove the dough from the parchment paper and place it on top of the cream cheese seam side down.
- Brush the top with melted butter and sprinkle with prepared cinnamon sugar. Bake for about 30 minutes, until dough is golden and cooked through. Let cool and slice into 12 bars.
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Nutrition Information
This was an easy to follow recipe and sooo yummy! I took some to work and Everyone enjoyed it! I bragged about this recipe to my mom and I will be making it for her and the rest of my family too to enjoy!!
Delicious, easy to make snd a hit with everyone❤️
Looks delicious! Do you think you could use puff pastry in place of the crescent roll dough? I just happen to have some on hand…
Hi Laura! We haven’t tried this with puff pastry but you can definitely try it! Let us know how it turns out!
Your recipes sounds so scrumptious delicious and I will try some out
Another delicious and easy to make recipe! My partner loves sopapillas so this was such a treat to make her!! I am not a good baker and this was incredibly easy to make!
This was easy to make and delicious! I found crescent roll sheets, so I did not have to piece the crust together. I did cut back on the sugar -used only a 1/2 cup – that is mixed into the cream cheese batter. After I put the batter in the pan I added some cinnamon and swirled it into the batter. Turned out great!
I place a piece of parchment paper on the cabinet and draw lines around the bottom of the baking pan. Next, I spread out the second container of crescent rolls on the paper to almost fit the drawing of the pan . Then I just turn the paper over and carefully detached the rolls on top of the filling. Perfect every time.
What an awesome find this recipe is, thank you for sharing!! I just made this for a Mexican-themed potluck, and it was a hit! So easy to make, quick to bake, and quick to be eaten lol. The only slightly tricky part was placing the second crust on top, but with another set of hands helping me it was fine. I will definitely be making this again.
So happy it was a hit! It’s so addicting, haha 🙂