Most of us probably think of sopapillas as a sort of deepfried Mexican flatbread/pastry, usually sprinkled with powdered sugar and drizzled with honey. It's pretty good stuff just that way. Naturally, the American version of sopapillas, thought to have originated in Albuquerque, New Mexico about 200 years ago, is totally different from Latin American ones, with the former being "a pillow-like puff of fried pastry accomplished by making a special dough which puffs up as it fries, like a doughnut" (according to WiseGeek), while throughout Latin America it is more like a flatbread.
Regardless, this recipe, which bears only a passing resemblance to sopapillas, nevertheless pays homage to them in a most delicious way! The recipe comes from CandelB at MexicanRecipes.org, and the photo from tabi123 on www.allrecipes.com
I've made this a couple of times, sharing it with a neighbor's kids on one occasion and they asked for more. So I can safely bet that your family will like it! It makes your house smell like Christmas morning while it's baking, and you don't have to mention how easy it was to make... ;)
SOPAPILLA CHEESECAKE PIE
Serves 10
Ingredients
- 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract
- 2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent rolls
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup honey
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth.
Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough. Stir together 3/4 cup of sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Dot the mixture over the top of the cheesecake.
Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar and drizzle with honey. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares.
Buen Provecho!
If you have a favorite recipe for a Mexican or Mexican-inspired dish, I'd love to add it to our recipe box! email lahuerita2@gmail.com (and put "recipe" in the subject box so I'll know what it's about)
