Simple Sopapilla Cheesecake Recipe

If you love cheesecake and you love sopapillas, you have to try this easy sopapilla cheesecake recipe from food blogger and recipe developer Jess Morone. If you've never had a sopapilla before, don't worry — you'll love this recipe. It's crispy, sweet, delicious, and comes together in under 1 hour. Sopapillas are deep-fried pieces of dough that have roots in Native American and New Mexican culture, and is similar to buneleros that originate from Spain (via New Mexico Culture). 

"My favorite thing about [this recipe] is how easy it is to make," Morone says. "Since it has a top crust, you don't have to worry about the top of the cheesecake setting correctly or cracking, and you can eat this as soon as it cools down after baking it. You don't have to refrigerate it for hours before eating it." All you need to make this recipe are a handful of ingredients, less than an hour of your time, and a desire to eat cheesecake. 

To make this sopapilla cheesecake, you'll need 2 8-ounce cans of Pillsbury crescent dough sheets, and 2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese. You'll also need sour cream, salt, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and melted butter.

Last but not least, you'll need some honey. "While sometimes people will drizzle honey over a sopapilla cheesecake when it is finished, by putting it under the top crescent roll and baking it, you get a more caramelized flavor from the honey, and it is less sticky on top," Morone says.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and spray a 9-x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Press 1 crescent dough sheet into the bottom of the baking dish.

Next, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, salt, vanilla extract, and 1 cup of sugar together in a large bowl, until the mixture is smooth. Morone warns that, if the cream cheese is not at room temperature, your filling could end up lumpy. "If [the cream cheese] is too cold, you can heat it in the microwave in 15-second increments until it is softened," Morone says.

Spread the cream cheese mixture over the crescent roll sheet in the baking dish, and then drizzle the honey over the cheesecake filling. Unroll the second crescent roll sheet over the cream cheese mixture and honey.

Mix the remaining ½ cup sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Spread the melted butter over the top crescent roll sheet, and then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the melted butter.

Bake the sopapilla cheesecake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top is golden, and cheesecake appears set. If you want impeccably clean slices, you can optionally let the cheesecake cool for 30 minutes, or just serve it warm from the oven. This sopapilla cheesecake can last in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, and up to 3 months in the freezer. According to Morone, this is a dessert for all occasions: "This cheesecake is so easy, that you can really make it for anything, even a weeknight dinner. It does make a pretty good amount of servings, so it works for large parties, like birthdays or holidays as well."