Rolo Cheesecake Bars

I blame Pinterest for this recipe. Actually, I blame Pinterest for a lot of things; the hours I lose looking through other people's boards, the money I'm sure I'm going to spend someday when I buy something I've seen on someone's boards, and the feeling that I'm a total loser with no talent for anything when I see all the cool things other people have created that I will never have the time to create myself because I'm spending all my time on Pinterest. If I had to design a new logo for Pinterest it would be a picture of a snake eating it's own tail, because that's what I feel like whenever I log on to Pinterest. But I digress...
And just one more thing about Pinterest. As a former journalist who always had to attribute everything I wrote to someone who may have said it or wrote about it, I'm totally freaked out when I use something I found on Pinterest because I never know who to attribute it to. Is it the person who's board I found it on or the originator of the item? I have no idea. So, I'm going to cover my bases here and state that I found this recipe on a site called "Closet Cooking" and Kevin, the originator of "Closet Cooking" found it on a site called "Baker's Royale." So, I hope I've given proper credit to the right people.
When I saw this recipe, I knew I just had to make it. I have a lot of weaknesses when it comes to candy but I would have to say that if I could only eat one candy for the rest of my life, it would be Rolos. They're just the perfect little piece of heaven with the combination of chocolate and caramel. Now if they'd just come up with a version topped with sea salt, that would be ideal.
So this recipe combines two of my favorite things; Rolos and cheesecake. How could it not be fantastic?
I will say, however, that when I make this recipe again (and I know I will), I will probably just halve the recipe for the chocolate ganache. The full recipe results in a very, very thick layer of ganache and to me it overpowered the cheesecake part of the bar. But, if you're a chocoholic, then go ahead and make the recipe as it's written. Everyone's tastes are different. And another thing that probably goes without saying but these bars need to be stored in the fridge.

Rolo Cheesecake Bars

Servings: makes 12+ servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST:
1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons of butter, melted
FOR THE CHEESECAKE:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup caramel sauce
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup mini Rolos
FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE:
8 ounces dark chocolate
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup caramel sauce
Directions
FOR THE CRUST:
Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter and press them into the bottom of a greased 8 inch square baking pan.
Bake in a preheated 350F oven until lightly golden brown, about 8-10 minutes and set aside.
FOR THE CHEESECAKE:
Cream the cream cheese, mix in the caramel sauce followed by the sugar, the egg, the vanilla extract and finally the mini Rolos and pour the mixture into the baking pan.
Bake in a preheated 350F oven until the cheesecake is set, about 30-35 minutes, set aside and let cool.
FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE:
Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler, mixing until smooth and pour the chocolate over the cheesecake.
Place the caramel sauce in the corner of a small bag, cut a small hole in the corner and slowly squeeze out the caramel creating lines across the chocolate.
Use a toothpick to make lines in the caramel going in the other direction to create the wave like pattern.