Apple Cheesecake Burritos
When you think about it, a burrito is actually a kind of pie-a hand
pie. So I have no qualms about offering you this excellent recipe
for a sort of warm apple cheesecake pie with a tortilla "crust."
It tastes like a cheesecake because there is a sweetened cream cheese
layer in the filling, but it also has another layer of sautéed diced
apples tossed with brown sugar and graham cracker crumbs. These
layers are wrapped in a warm flour tortilla, slathered with softened
butter, and dusted with sugar, then briefly broiled to give the
outside a crispy texture. The kids will love these hand pies, and
they're great for fall parties. The recipe can be easily multiplied
to make more servings.
Ingredients
Burritos
- 1 (3 ounce) package cold cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 whole Graham crackers
- 2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 Golden Delicious or other firm-textured baking apple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
- 2 (8- or 9-inch) flour tortillas
Glaze
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
- Granulated sugar
Instructions
- Put the cream cheese on a small plate and mash well with a fork.
Add the granulated sugar and lemon juice and mash again. Refrigerate.
- Break the Graham crackers up coarsely and put them in a zipper-topped
plastic storage bag. Using a rolling pin, crush the crackers to
make fine crumbs. Put the crumbs in a medium-size mixing bowl. Add
the brown sugar and cinnamon and toss well to mix. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a medium-size skillet. Add the apple chunks and
cook, stirring, over medium heat until they're heated through
but still crunchy, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and scrape
into the crumb mixture, tossing well to mix with the crumbs. Set
aside. Heat the broiler.
- To assemble the burritos, warm one of the tortillas just until it's
flexible in a skillet over low heat. Place the tortilla on the counter
and spread half of the cream cheese mixture in the center of it,
in a rectangle about 1 1/4 inches wide and 4 inches across. Spoon
half of the apple crumb mixture on top of the cheese, then fold
the sides over the filling as if you were making the first 2 folds
of a regular burrito. Next fold the edge closest to you over the
filling, then roll up the burrito to seal. Repeat for the other
tortilla and the rest of the cream cheese and apple mixtures.
- Place the burritos in a shallow, buttered baking dish, seam side
down. Smear the softened butter over the surface and sprinkle with
sugar. Run the burritos under the broiler-6 to 8 inches from the
heat-until the tops are golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Watch them
like a hawk, so they don't burn.
- Transfer to a cutting board and cut in half diagonally before serving.
Yield: 2 regular or 4 modest dessert or snack-size servings
Source: Apple Pie Perfect - Ken Haedrich