Looking for a simple appetizer? What about these marinated mozzarella balls! With fresh herbs, pepper, salt, olive oil, and a little bit of heat from the chili flakes, I can never get enough of them.

Put a bowl of these on the table during drinks or appetizers, and you’ll see – they’ll disappear in no time.

Why This Recipe Works

• Easy – making these marinated mozzarella balls is as easy as it gets
• Crowd pleaser – fresh mozzarella balls with a spicy dressing. Your guests will love them!

More Delicious Snacks

We all know mozzarella balls on a skewer with a cherry tomato and a basil leaf by now – the classic caprese combo that’s always a crowd-pleaser. I love it too, but there’s so much more you can do with mozzarella.

Personally, I often top a cracker (or something like these homemade crostini!) or crusty bread (like this Greek yogurt bread) with thin slices of mozzarella, add some fresh herbs and a few tomatoes, and it’s instantly delicious.

I usually have some leftover mozzarella, so I season the extra pieces and just snack on them as they are. So good!

Here are some more appetizers I love:

• Homemade chicken empanadas
• Blooming quesadilla
• Loaded sweet potato fries
• Halloumi cheese fries

Recipe Ingredients

• mozzarella balls – you can use mozzarella pearls or the slightly larger balls
• extra virgin olive oil – you can use other oil but I prefer extra-virgin olive oil as that adds so much flavor
• fresh herbs – a must in my opinion
• fresh garlic – I use about one clove
• chili flakes – you can leave those out if you don’t like the heat.

Other possible additions to this easy appetizer recipe are some lemon zest, fresh parsley, or a splash of balsamic vinegar. Make sure to double-check the quantities in the recipe card below.

How To Make The Marinated Mozzarella Balls

There is something very satisfying about marinated cheese. It’s made with simple ingredients and ready in no time at all.

Just mix the marinade ingredients and add the mozzarella balls to it. Let it sit for about an hour and your appetizer is done.

Perfect for serving on a cheese board or antipasto platter too.

Storing Mozzarella Balls

Once made these mozzarella balls can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. I tend to store them in mason jars as it looks pretty too.

Make sure the olive oil mixture covers all the balls when you are storing them.

These fun Twix cookies are a mix between thumbprint cookies and a Twix bar. Easy to make en absolutely delicious to eat!

Homemade Twix Cookies

This recipe for Twix cookies was developed from a combination of other recipes. One of them was caramel shortcake, which is basically just a giant Twix tart. Then I thought about the various kinds of thumbprint cookies (like these cranberry thumbprint cookies) I had made before.

What if I used that little cookie with the indentation in the middle as a base, filled it with caramel, and then drizzled some chocolate on top? Sounds like a winner to me right?

This combination has everything Twix candy bars do, but homemade and with even more caramel. So if Twix is your favorite candy bar, you might want to give this easy cookie recipe a try! And be sure to check out the Twix brownies as well.

Why This Recipe Works

• caramel, crunch, and chocolate – do I need to say more?
• super easy to make – for the caramel layer, you use a can of dulce de leche, which makes it simple and so delicious

Love Cookies? Check These Out As Well:

• Chewy peanut butter cookies
• Almond cookies
• Dutch Sand cookies
• Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Recipe Ingredients

• all-purpose flour – this forms the base of the twix cookies
• butter – make sure to use unsalted butter at room temperature
• icing sugar – you can also use very fine sugar. I wouldn’t use brown sugar as that has an effect on the look and taste
• dulce de leche – you can use store-bought dulce de leche or follow the easy instructions below
• chocolate – for the extra chocolate drizzle I used milk chocolate, but you can use dark chocolate if you want

Make sure to double check the exact quantities in the recipe card below.

How To Make Dulce De Leche

For making dulce the leche you will need a can of sweetened condensed milk. Place this in a large pot filled with water and make sure the can stays under water for the entire cooking time.

Bring to a boil and keep the boil going but not too hard. A soft rolling boil is enough. Let it simmer for about 3 hours and make sure to check the water level a couple of times and add water as needed.

After three hours, remove the can from the water with tongs and let it cool. And voila, magic has happened; you’ve got a delicious homemade caramel!

How To Make Twix Cookies

Making these Twix cookies is super easy to do. Start by mixing the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the vanilla and the flour and mix till you have a firm dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

Next you start by making the dough balls. You can use a cookie scoop or your hands to roll the cookies into balls. Place them on a cookie sheet or baking sheet and press an indentation into the cookies like you do with a thumbprint cookie. Bake at 180˚C/350˚F for about 14 minutes.

Let the cookies cool down on a wire rack and once cooled, spoon in the dulce de leche (this works easier if it is slightly warm so you have gooey caramel) and finish with the chocolate layer.

Now you have everything that homemade twix bars have but in the shape of a cookie!

Storing Twix Cookies

Kept in an airtight container these cookies will last for 2-3 days with the caramel layer on top. Without the caramel they will keep for much longer (up to 4 weeks).

You can also freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months and bake the dough straight from the freezer. The cookies with caramel and chocolate can be frozen too, again: for up to 3 months.

Keep in mind that the caramel will make the cookies a bit softer once added.

A super fun and tasty treat for a spooky party: homemade meringue ghosts! I mean; how cute do these look right?

They’re adorable and it makes me sing ‘Who you’re gonna call? Ghostbusters!’ all day long. Not sure if that is what you want, but regardless these super cute ghost meringues are the perfect Halloween treat.

Why This Recipe Works

What I love about meringue is how simple it is to make. The “batter” is ready in no time, and piping out the shapes is just as quick.

Then they go straight into the oven – the only thing that takes time is the drying. And you can have fun varying the ghost shapes as well. Another great thing to do with the kids.

Recipe Ingredients

Obviously, for making these meringue ghosts, you will need a meringue recipe. I generally use French meringue for making these ghosts, which you will find below.

• egg whites – you will need about four, and that will make a lot of little ghosts. The egg yolk can be used for other recipes, like my favorite lemon curd, for instance.
• sugar – I use a mix of fine caster sugar and icing sugar
• cornstarch – to stabilize the meringue mixture I use a little bit of cornstarch. It also helps a bit with that delicious chewy center.

Make sure to check the recipe card below for all ingredients and quantities.

How To Make Meringue Ghosts

The first step is making the meringue. You can use an electric mixer (handmixer or stand mixer) or use the whisk attachment of your food processor and whip the egg whites to stiff peaks.

The next step is to pipe the ghost shapes. I use a pastry bag for that and use a plain round tip. Don’t make the tip too small. Now holding the piping bag straight you pipe little ghost shapes.

Hold the bag close to the surface and apply pressure to get the meringue mixture out. Once you have the preferred size you gently lift it upwards. You can vary with the ghost sizes too. Make a fun family with bigger and smaller ghosts.

If you use the sugar candy eyes, you can apply them right away. You can bake them with the meringues.

Dry The Meringue

Now it’s time to get the meringues in the oven.

You don’t really bake meringues; at 100 °C (about 210 °F), they slowly dry out. That process takes around 2 hours. I don’t mind though – it gives me plenty of time to make other treats. Once they come out of the oven, they just need to cool down.

And if they don’t have eyes yet, it’s time to do that now!

So simple, right? The only challenge is having the patience while they’re in the oven. But hey, that just leaves you more time to whip up other fun Halloween bakes. Have you made something spooky yet for Halloween? Or try one of the below fun Halloween treats.

• Oreo spider cookies
• Halloween Bat cupcakes
• Red velvet cake balls
• Monster cookies

BAKING TIP: A fun alternative to candy eyes is to draw little faces on your meringue ghosts using a black edible marker.

Cheesecakes. I love them! This carrot cake cheesecake is based on a recipe out of the book of one of my Dutch blogging friends: Ohmyfoodness.

I made just a few minor adjustments to the recipe as I thought walnuts are something that is essential in a carrot cake. I also change the cream cheese frosting a little bit so it would be firmer.

Why This Recipe Works

If you love cheesecake and you love carrot cake (like my favorite carrot cake recipe!) than this is the best of both worlds. A delicious carrot cake layer topped with a creamy cheesecake layer… Do I need to say more?

Recipe Ingredients

• self-rising flour – can be swapped for all-purpose flour in combination with baking powder (make sure to check how to do that in this article)
• sugar – I used light brown sugar here as that adds flavor. Dark brown sugar is also an option.
• carrots – make sure to use freshly grated carrots as they contain more moisture and will give you a lovely moist carrot cake
• cream cheese – use a firm cream cheese for the cheesecake portion of this recipe
• sour cream – I like to add a bit of sour cream into my cheesecake batter to make it slightly fresher

Make sure to double check full ingredients and quantities in the recipe card below.

How To Make The Carrot Cake Cheesecake

Step 1: Make the carrot cake batter

For the carrot cake recipe you simply add all the ingredients into a large bowl. Mix until you have a thick batter and set aside.

Step 2: Make the layer of cheesecake

To make the second layer, you add cream cheese and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until smooth and add the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally and as a last step mix in the sour cream, vanilla extract, and corn starch.

Step 3: Build the cake layers

Line an 8-inch (20 cm) springform pan with parchment paper. Spread half of the carrot cake batter on the bottom of the form.

Add about 1/4 to 1/3 of the cheesecake batter into the center, but don’t spread it evenly. Top with the remaining carrot cake batter and finish with the rest of the cheesecake batter. For that last layer, spread it evenly over the top of the cake.

Step 4: Bake

Now bake the cake for about 80 minutes at 180˚C/350˚F. Cover the top of the cheesecake about halfway through with aluminum foil so it doesn’t get too dark. After baking turn of the oven and – with the door slightly ajar, let it cool for at least an hour. Place in the refrigerator to set completely.

Step 5: Add frosting

Of course this is an optional step, but the frosting really does make a difference! Spread it over the cake and decorate with walnuts.

Love Cheesecake recipes?

Me too! I’m sure you will like these too:

• Easy homemade cheesecake
• Raspberry cheesecake bars
• Cheesecake filled Easter eggs
• Coconut cheesecake

A few years ago, I really had to get used to dates, but by now I’m a big fan. Especially these bacon wrapped dates with cream cheese, they’re delicious.

The sweetness of the date pairs perfectly with the creaminess of the cheese and the saltiness of the bacon.

TIP: With the suggested baking time, the bacon is cooked but not crispy; feel free to leave them in the oven a little longer if you prefer them that way. An easy party snack that’s always a hit!

Why This Recipe Works

The combination of the sweet dates with the creamy cheese and the salty and crispy bacon is a classic. And for a good reason too. It’s the perfect appetizer or snack and guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser!

Make sure to use pitted dates to make it easier to make them. I love making this for all the holiday parties coming up soon!

Recipe Ingredients

• dates – I like using medjool dates as they are the softest, melt-in-your-mouth type
• cream cheese – of course, you can vary this as well. Blue cheese or creamy goat cheese works really well with this recipe, too.
• bacon – don’t use very thick-cut bacon as the balance will be lost. I like using thin strips and cutting each piece of bacon to the right size.

How To Make Bacon-Wrapped Dates

If needed you can pit the dates with a small paring knife, but I like to buy them without the pits at the grocery store. Easier, although removing the pit doesn’t take much time.

Fill each date with cream cheese and wrap each individual date in a small slice of bacon.

Place the stuffed dates on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 8-10 minutes in a preheated oven at 180˚C/350˚F.

And that’s all there is to it! The perfect combination for your snacks. If you have any leftover dates; they will also be delicious on a salad or just as they are as a snack.

More snack recipes:

Looking for more inspiration for quick or easy party bites? Below you’ll find a selection of tasty recipes you can whip up in no time. Perfect appetizers for a casual get-together, a party, or just as a snack. Or serve it with a delicious mojito cocktail.

• Easy crostini
• Garlic focaccia with olives
• Blooming quesadilla ring

The December month is getting closer and you know what that means! It means that cranberry season is upon us.

And while you actually use dried cranberries for this recipe for cranberry orange cookies (so you can make it all year round), I find it particularly good in December.

Perfect for your holiday cookie tray (next to, for instance, these cranberry thumbprint cookies, chocolate chip cookies or red velvet cookies.

Why This Recipe Works

• Cranberries and Christmas are a natural combination, right? And these orange cranberry cookies are perfect for the Christmas season!
• Easy recipe – as with most of my recipes, this one is another no-brainer and so, so good!

Recipe Ingredients

• cranberries – I use dried cranberries for this recipe. Fresh cranberries will not work
• white caster sugar – make sure to use fine sugar for the best results
• vanilla extract – or use vanilla sugar
• orange – another crucial part of this recipe is orange zest. You’ll need about one orange.

How To Make Cranberry Orange Cookies

Step 1: Beat the butter

First step is to cream the butter with the sugar, vanilla sugar (or extract) in a large bowl. Add the egg yolk in and mix everything on medium speed until creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Step 2: Add dry ingredients

Next step add the flour and the salt as well as the orange peel to the bowl. Mix it until a cookie dough forms.

Step 3: Chill

Now shape the dough into one or two cookie dough logs and make sure to wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least an hour. You can also freeze the dough at this point.

Step 4: Bake

Once the dough is chilled slice it into rounds and place on a prepared baking sheet. Bake the cookies for about 12-14 minutes at 180˚C/350˚F or until lightly golden brown. Make sure to let the cookies cool down on a wire rack before you place the cooled cookies in a cookie jar.

Storing the Cranberry Orange Cookies

You can store the cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks (although I do guarantee they will not last that long!).

One thing to note is that cookies can turn a little soft in a completely airtight container. It helps to store them in a metal tin which usually doesn’t completely close off. That way the cookies will remain crispier.

You can also freeze the cookies for about 3 months.

Oreo cookies are just so versatile. You can use Oreo cookies for all kind of baking recipes, but you can also make fun Halloween treats out of the cookies. I’ve previously turned them into mummies but this time I went with Oreo spider cookies. How cute are these?

Why This Recipe Works

These spooky spider cookies are so simple. You can make them as silly or spooky as you like. You could even add little teeth if you want.

I had fun using different kinds of eyes to make a cheerful and goofy collection of Oreo spiders cookies. And it’s absolutely fun to do this with kids too. Let your imagination run wild!

BAKING TIP: Go all out when it comes to the eyes for these Oreo spiders. I used M&M’s and different sizes of candy eyes.

More Oreo Recipes

Oreo’s are perfect for many baking recipes, these are a few of my favorites!

• ​Homemade Oreo cookies
• Oreo ice cream
• Valentine’s Oreo truffles
• Oreo mug cake
• Easy Oreo cheesecake

Recipe Ingredients

You need just a few simple ingredients for making these Oreo spider cookies. But you can vary however you like.

For the cute spider bodies you will need regular sized Oreo cookies. For the spider legs I’ve used string licorice (see note below for options)

For the eyes you can go with M&M’s, make your own with royal icing or buy candy eyes.

String Licorice

Depending on where you live in the world this might be an ingredient that is hard to find. You can replace the black licorice with Twizzlers pull & peel for instance.

Or use pokey sticks or pretzel sticks. At the end of the day it doesn’t have to look perfect.

How To Make Oreo Spider Cookies

Cut the licorice or Twizzlers into smaller pieces. Now take an Oreo cookie and insert the spider legs into the filling on the side of the oreo. Four legs on each side.

Now attach the eyes of your choice to the cookies. I used a bit of chocolate frosting to do this, but royal icing works or anything that is tasty and will stick on top of the oreos.

For the M&M eyes I used a black edible marker to draw on the M&M’s. But a bit of melted chocolate will work here too.

I love all kinds of tiramisu with fruit in them, but this blueberry tiramisu really stands out. That’s partly because of the combination with lemon curd, which makes it such a wonderfully fresh dessert.

Homemade blueberry tiramisu

If you’re looking for a show-stopping dessert that’s both easy to prepare and looks beautiful, this tiramisu is perfect. After a few hours in the fridge, it sets nicely so you can cut it into neat slices to serve on plates.

When will you be trying this recipe? And if you love tiramisu; I’ve got a couple more lined up for you. Make sure to try this easy limoncello tiramisu, the raspberry and lemon tiramisu, blackberry tiramisu or the classic tiramisu.

BAKING TIP: You can prepare this tiramisu in a baking dish, layer it in small glasses, or even build it individually on plates.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• no raw eggs – I never make my tiramisu recipes with raw eggs, making it the perfect dessert for everyone.
• super easy – it’s quick and ready in no time at all!

Recipe Ingredients

• heavy cream – the combination of the whipped cream with the mascarpone makes the filling deliciously creamy
• mascarpone – in my opinion this is the only cream cheese to use for a tiramisu
• lemon curd – use either store-bought or homemade. I like homemade lemon curd the best!
• lady fingers – the best cookies to use in tiramisu
• blueberries – for this recipe you will need about 9 oz.

How To Make Blueberry Tiramisu

Step 1: Combine cream with mascarpone

In a large bowl add the heavy cream, mascarpone, lemon curd and sugar. Beat until soft peaks form and the mixture is smooth and thick.

Step 2: Making the dipping sauce

In this case the dipping sauce consists of blueberry syrup which is diluted a bit. You will use this to dip the ladyfingers in.

Step 3: Build the layers

Start by building the layers for the tiramisu. You begin with a layer of lady fingers dipped into the liquid. Spread just a little under half of your mascarpone mixture over the lady fingers. Scatter some blueberries over the tip and a little bit of the mascarpone over the berries. Make sure to keep about half of the mixture for the top layer.

Step 4: Make the second layer

Make the second layer and finish with the mascarpone. Cover the entire top of the tiramisu with blueberries. Cover with plastic wrap and let it set in the fridge for at least an hour. Serve chilled.

Storing Blueberry Tiramisu

You can store the tiramisu in the fridge for 3-4 days. It will become a little bit more compact after a day but the flavors are also more intense.

I don’t recommend to freeze homemade tiramisu, as the texture will change slightly. It is possible though if you don’t mind a slightly different texture. In an airtight container, the tiramisu will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.

Years ago, I got a Greek cookbook for my birthday. The very first recipe I tried from it was tzatziki and it was delicious!

Later on, out of convenience, I did buy tzatziki from the supermarket once or twice, but it was nowhere near as good as the homemade version. Since then, no more store-bought tzatziki for me, I always make it myself. And honestly, it really doesn’t take that much time.

Recipe Ingredients

Make sure to double the exact quantities and full ingredients in the recipe card below.

• fresh cucumber – for one portion of tzatziki, half a cucumber is usually enough. Keep in mind that removing the seeds will mean you have less cucumber.
• Greek yogurt – full-fat Greek yogurt is the best option here
• fresh dill – you can also use fresh mint as an addition
• garlic – I go with one garlic clove as raw garlic can be overpowering. You can use more or less, depending on your preference
• lemon juice – it freshens the whole thing up considerably!

Storing Tzatziki

Keep the tzatziki in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container. One thing to keep in mind is that the garlic in the tzatziki might get stronger as you store it for longer. Just something to be aware of.

Can you freeze tzatziki?

Freezing isn’t recommended. The yogurt tends to separate after thawing, and the texture becomes grainy. It’s best enjoyed fresh.

Is there such a thing as too much chocolate? These triple chocolate cookies are very similar to regular chocolate chip cookies, but with just a bit of extra chocolate.

Why You Want To Make This Recipe

If you love chocolate, this cookie is a chocolate lover’s dream. It has three types of chocolate, which is seriously impossible to resist.

I wanted to make these triple chocolate cookies for quite a while. I had them on my to-do list forever but I’ve finally managed to check them off. The edges of the cookies are crisp but the inside is just that insanely good chewy center. The perfect cookie if you ask me.

Recipe Ingredients

• ​sugar – I use dark brown sugar in this recipe as that adds to the flavor of the cookies
• flour – you can use regular all-purpose flour for this recipe
• chocolate – obviously, for these chewy triple chocolate cookies the chocolate is a mix of white, dark and milk chocolate. Plus you will also use cocoa powder

For a full list of ingredients make sure to double check the quantities in the recipe card below.

How To Make Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

Step 1: Mix the dough

Take a large bowl or use the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter (at room temperature) and brown sugar and beat until creamy.

Add the egg and vanilla extract in and mix until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary with a spatula.

Add in the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda). Mix until just combined. Don’t overmix.

Step 2: Add chocolate

Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold in all the chocolate types until they are combined into the dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least an hour.

Step 3: Form the cookies

Prepare a baking tray with parchment paper and divide the dough into 16 equal portions. Roll into balls and place on the baking sheet.

Make sure to leave plenty of space between the cookies, as they will spread a bit. You will also likely need more than one baking sheet. Unless you have really large baking sheets.

As an optional extra, you can press a few extra chocolate chips into the top of the cookies. That not only looks good, but it creates that extra perfect texture you want.

Step 4: Bake

Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for about 12-14 minutes until they are golden brown. Make sure to cool them on a cooling rack so they can crisp up.

How to store triple chocolate chip cookies

• Room temperature: Store in an airtight container for 1–2 weeks
• Freezer: Up to 3 months

Halloween gets a little bigger in the Netherlands year over year, and even though I don’t really celebrate it myself, it is always fun making some special Halloween treats. This year I went with red velvet cake balls, yum!

I made the cake a bit brighter red than I usually would for a red velvet cake since it fits the theme so well. For the decoration, I kept it simple by mixing some of my favorite Halloween sprinkles.

I did consider turning them into creepy eyeballs, but maybe I’ll save that for another time. I’d want to make sure they don’t look too realistic, otherwise I’d lose my appetite quickly. That was definitely not the case with the truffles in the photo, those disappeared in no time!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

It’s the perfect bite-sized Halloween treat and the fun part is that you can go wild with the decoration if you want. You can keep it fairly plain as I did or you can add little Halloween details like eyeballs or other funky elements.

Also for ease of use you can bake the red velvet using a red velvet cake mix, but maybe add a bit extra food coloring (depending on the mix).

BAKING TIP: To get that deep red color in red velvet cake, I use gel-based food coloring.

Recipe Ingredients

For the cake, you will need the usual ingredients. I’m just listing the more special ingredients for this recipe. Check the recipe card below for full details.

• cream cheese – in order to make the truffles (which are essentially cake pops), you mix the crumbled cake with cream cheese
• food coloring – I find I get the best results with gel food coloring. For that bright red color, you need a relatively large amount of coloring
• white chocolate – the outside of this bite-sized treat is made of white chocolate. You can replace this with dark chocolate or milk chocolate as well. Candy melts in your favorite color are an option too!
• sprinkles – I simply added sprinkles to the white chocolate right after dipping the cake balls. You can also add candy eyes or use specific Halloween sprinkles.

How To Make The Red Velvet Cake Balls

Once you’ve baked your cake and it has cooled down completely you can use your hands or an mixer to crumble the cake. Mix this with the cream cheese until you have a sticky dough-like mixture.

You can use a cookie scoop to make equal sized little balls. Depending on the size you’ll have around 15 balls. Cover them with plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for at least an hour. Or place in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Now melt the white chocolate using a double boiler (check my tips for tempering chocolate without a thermometer) and dip each ball into the white chocolate.

TIP: You can turn it into red velvet cake pops by adding lollipop sticks. I chose not to do that for this recipe.

Once you dipped the balls into the chocolate place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and add your sprinkles immediately while the chocolate is still soft. Repeat for all balls and let the chocolate coating harden completely.

Storing Red Velvet Cake Balls

You can store the Halloween cake balls in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week. In the freezer they will keep for up tot 3 months.

More Red Velvet Recipes

Are you also a fan of that velvety-soft texture and rich, creamy flavor of red velvet? Then you’ve come to the right place! From classic cakes to creative twists, these red velvet recipes are all worth trying:

• Red velvet madeleines
• Red velvet crinkle cookies
• Marble cake with vanilla and red velvet

As you may know (or maybe not!), we Dutch really love our traditional apple pie. I already have plenty of cheesecake recipes on the site, but recently I had an idea. What if I combined the two into one dessert: an apple pie cheesecake!

Could I create a cheesecake that not only tasted like apple pie but also looked like one? After some experimenting and trial runs, I figured it out – and believe me when I say, this is a recipe you’ll want to try!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• A fun surprise – this cheesecake is a creative twist on the classic Dutch apple pie.
• Perfect for apple pie lovers – if Dutch apple pie is your favorite, this is a must-bake.

Recipe Ingredients

• cream cheese – the secret twist! From the outside, it looks like a traditional apple pie, but inside you’ll discover the cheesecake layer.
• self-rising flour – or substitute with all-purpose flour plus baking powder (see substitution tips here).
• apples – choose your favorite sweet variety for the best flavor.
• sugar – I used white caster sugar, but brown sugar also works. Just keep in mind it will give the crust a slightly darker color.
• custard powder – for extra creaminess, I stirred some into the homemade apple pie filling.

(See the recipe card below for full ingredients and quantities)

How to Make Apple Pie Cheesecake

Here’s the good news: you don’t need a water bath for this cheesecake, since the cheesecake layer is baked right into the apple filling.

Step 1: Make the dough

Prepare your apple pie dough and divide it into three portions:

• Bottom crust (no graham crackers needed here!)
• Side crust
• Lattice top

Line your springform pan with the bottom and side portions of dough, then set aside.

Step 2: Make the cheesecake filling

In a medium bowl, mix the cheesecake ingredients until smooth. Spread this batter evenly over the bottom crust and smooth the top.

Step 3: Add the apple filling

Make your apple filling and spoon it over the cheesecake layer in an even layer. Press down gently so it sits nicely on top, but not too firmly – you don’t want it sinking completely. Finish with the lattice crust on top (see the step-by-step guide below in the recipe card).

Baking the Apple Pie Cheesecake

Bake the cheesecake as you would a regular apple pie, but here’s the key difference: the cooling process.

Leave the apple pie cheesecake to cool completely in the springform before removing the ring. Then refrigerate it for at least a few hours to let the cheesecake layer set properly.

Storing Apple Pie Cheesecake

You can easily store the cheesecake in the fridge for about 2-3 days.

If you want to keep it for longer, make sure to freeze it in an airtight container and keep for up to two months.