Happy December!!

Can you believe it's December already???  Where did this year go?  If you're anything like me, you find yourself making a LOT of treats in December.  I'm always looking for new recipes to try and hoping to find some new favorites.  Last month I was in charge of the faculty birthday treats from the PTA at my kids' elementary school, so I decided it was the perfect chance to try out some new ones.  I made a bunch of dessert bars and then found myself wondering how to serve them.  I found some huge platters and piled them high with desserts.  It looked delicious, but how would the teachers know what kind of bars they were choosing?  I found the perfect solution in Wendy's store.

These place cards are so cute and were perfect for labeling my yummy treats.  Since they were supposed to be birthday treats, I used pieces of just about every birthday kit in the Brownie Scraps store and came up with these fun cards.

Here's what it looked like with the treats.  Mmmm...

You can find the templates for the place cards and some cute matching napkin rings HERE in the store.  And I can't show you those yummy treats without sharing the recipe, so if you're looking for some fabulous cheesecake bars for your December treats, I highly recommend this one.  Enjoy!

Cherry Cheese Bars
Base:
1 c walnut pieces, divided
1-1/4 c flour
1/2 c brownie sugar
1/2 butter
1/2 c coconut

Filling:
2 pkg (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
2/3 c sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling*

Heat oven to 350.  Grease 13x9x2-inch pan.  Chop 1/2 c nuts coarsely.  Reserve for topping.  Chop remaining 1/2 c nuts finely.  For base, combine flour and brown sugar in medium bowl.  Cut in 1/2 c butter until fine crumbs forom.  Add 1/2 c finely chopped nuts and coconut.  Mix well.  Resreve 1/2 c crumbs for topping.  Press remaining crumbs in bottom of pan.  Bake at 50 for 12-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.  Do not overbake.  For filling, combine cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in small bowl.  Beat at medium speed until well blended.  Spread over hot baked base.  Return to oven.  Bake 15 minutes.  Do not overbake.  Spread cherry* pie filling over cheese layer.  Combine reserved coarsely chopped nuts and reserved crumbs.  Spinkle over pie filling.  Return to oven.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Do not overbake.  Cool in pan on cooling rack.  Refrigerate several hours.  Cut into 2-1/2 inch bars.  Makes 3 dozen.

*You can substitute another flavor pie filling for the cherry pie filling.