Mmm….nachos. So cheesy.

So salty. So crunchy.

So….sweet?

When I discovered this sweet variation on a traditional party staple, I put it at the top of my Must Make List.

I’ve always been charmed by sweets dressed up as savory foods, but seriously, cheesecake nachos! How can you not stop everything to make these?

I can barely stop scooping the leftovers out of the pan right now to finish this post. Meaning I’d better cut this narrative short before the sugar rush kicks in. Sugar high + Pandora’s Gangnam Style radio station = dangerous dance moves and no finished blog post.

On the plus side, I suppose I will be burning off all the cheesecake nachos I just ate.

Ingredients (adapted from Cupcakes, Cookies & Pie, Oh, My!):

For the cheesecake:

• 2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese at room temp. I use fat free and it works just fine.
• 2/3 cup sugar, plus an additional 1/4
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream

For the nacho chips:

• 2 rolls refrigerated pie dough
• 1 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 2 Tbsp. sugar, or white sugar sprinkles

For the garnish and salsa:

• 16 Swedish Fish
• 1/2 cup low-sugar strawberry jam (the low-sugar is a consistency thing, stick with low-sugar for the best results)
• 1/4 cup chocolate covered raisins (or peanuts)
• 5 large chunks of dried pineapple, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch clear pie pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth. Add the 2/3 cup sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla, and beat well. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition until smooth.

3. Pour the batter into the pie pan and bake the cheesecake until almost set, about 25-30 minutes. While the cheesecake bakes, mix together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the sour cream. When the cheesecake is almost set, pour the sour cream mixture over the cheesecake and bake for another 5 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before transferring to the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours.

4. To create the chips, preheat your oven to 400 degrees, and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Unroll your pie dough, and lightly brush the surface of each with the melted butter. Sprinkle the sugar, or sprinkles, over the buttered dough, then cut it into triangles, about the size of small corn chips.

5. Lay your “chips” out on the cookie sheets, and bake until golden, about 8 minutes. Transfer the chips to a wire rack and let them cool completely.

6. To make the salsa, chop up your Swedish Fish (easier said than done, those fish are sticky!), and vigorously stir them into a small bowl with the low-sugar jam, or preserves. You want it to be semi-liquid, more like the consistency of salsa.

7. Once everything is cooled, assemble your nachos by gently pressing your chips into the sour cream layer on the cheesecake. Drizzle with your salsa, then add the chocolate covered raisins (black beans), and sliced pineapple (cheese), in addition to anything else your creative mind thinks up!