Sugar Cookie Cheesecake Bars

It was recently my hubs and my anniversary. I made these delightful bars for our anniversary dessert because he LOVES cheesecake. It was far too hot to make a regular cheesecake in my oven and I thought this would do just the trick. He loved them! Think a cross between a fruit pizza (if using fruit) and a cheesecake. I don't even really like cheesecake and I LOVED this!

This was my hubs and I when we first got married. Is he not the cutest thing EVER?! So glad I got to spend another year with this stud!

Ingredients
1 (17.5 oz) pouch sugar cookie mix
1 (4 serving size) box French Vanilla Instant Pudding
2 Tablespoon packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 teaspoons vanilla
2 whole eggs + 3 egg yolks, divided
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup toffee bits, pulverized in blender, optional
Strawberries or caramel, optional

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.
3. In a medium bowl, mix cookie mix, pudding mix, brown sugar, melted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 whole egg.
4. Press the cookie dough into the bottom of your 9x13 pan and slightly up the sides of the prepared pan.
5. In a large bowl of a stand mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, 2 teaspoons vanilla, and remaining whole egg and 3 egg yolks until smooth and creamy (a few minutes).
6. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the top of the raw cookie base.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes (if the sugar cookie starts getting to brown for your liking, cover with tin foil and continue baking). If you are doing the toffee bits, sprinkle pan evenly immediately after sugar cookie cheesecake bars are removed from the oven.
8. Let cool on a wire rack for 30-45 minutes. Cover and transfer to a refrigerator and continue cooling for at least 3 hours or overnight.
9. If desired, top with strawberries (I like my strawberries covered in sugar), caramel, or eat straight up.