Recipe Review - Espresso Cheesecake Bars

I wish I could tell you the genius that is responsible for these rich, delicious cheesecake bars. Alas, I cannot. I've been making them for a couple of years and could not even venture a guess as to what magazine I pulled them from. So, I'll just have to hold the genius status for at least making them and sharing them with you! Enjoy!

Espresso Cheesecake Bars
Crust Ingredients - 9 whole graham crackers (if you're lucky, your individual pack has just exactly that), 1/4 c sugar, 1/4 c unsalted butter, 1 1/2 tsp instant espresso powder
Filling Ingredients - 5 tsp instant espresso powder, 1 Tbsp heavy cream, 1 tsp vanilla, 16 oz cream cheese (room temp), 2/3 c sugar, 1 egg
Topping Ingredients - 1 c heavy cream, 2 Tbsp sugar, 1/4 tsp vanilla (you can use Ready Whip if you prefer, but you have all that extra heavy cream just sitting there and it is so good made fresh!)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 11x7 pan. Grind crackers, sugar, and espresso powder to crumbs in food processor (or by hand). Add butter and blend to make crumbs. Press half into the prepared pan and sprinkle the other half into a pie dish. Bake both until golden ~10 minutes. Cool 10 minutes.
For the bar filling, beat together cream cheese and sugar. Beat in the egg, cream, vanilla, and espresso powder. Spread over crust. Bake until just set, ~25 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then sprinkle with the extra crust topping from your pie dish. Chill uncovered a minimum of 2 hours or overnight.
Before serving, prepare the whipped cream by beating together the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla to the desired consistency. Cut cheese cake into squares and top with whipped cream to serve. Enjoy!

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