Cream Cheese Carrot Cake Bars

For the carrot cake bars:

1/2 cup unsalted butter (melted)

1 cup light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup shredded carrots

For the cream cheese swirl:

4 ounces cream cheese – room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg yolk

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8x8 baking pan with non stick spray and set aside. Line the pan with parchment paper for easy removal. This is optional but makes the bars easier to cut. Prepare the carrot cake batter: Melt the butter in a microwave safe dish. In a medium sized bowl, add the melted butter and brown sugar and mix to combine. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Add in the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt and stir again until completely combined. Fold in the shredded carrots. Set aside. Prepare the cheesecake swirl: In a medium sized bowl, add in the cream cheese, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla. Mix until smooth and creamy. Layering the bars: Pour about half of the carrot cake batter into the pan and spread it out with a spatula. Then take half of the cheesecake batter and drop spoonful’s over the carrot cake batter. Don’t swirl yet. Drop the remaining carrot cake batter by spoonfuls around the cheesecake batter and then finish with drops of the remaining cheesecake batter. Then, take a knife and swirl around until the two are swirled together. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, the edges will be golden brown and there will be very little jiggle to the center. Cool completely before cutting. Store airtight in the refrigerator. They are delicious from the fridge!