Lemon-Blueberry Cheesecake Bars-Joanne & Adam Gallagher

By TFerg

These cheesecake bars are a dream. The lemony cheesecake matches perfectly with fresh blueberries and that buttery streusel really makes everything work. If you can’t find fresh blueberries, try ripe red raspberries or even blackberries. We really prefer to stick to fresh berries for this, not frozen, since we like how the fresh berries stay intact while baking.
When making these cheesecake bars, you really want them to be cold before cutting, so there is some time spent chilling the baked cheesecake. To speed things up a bit, place the cheesecake into your freezer for 30 minutes instead of the refrigerator for 1 hour before cutting into bars.

Ingredients

• For Crust
• 9 graham cracker rectangles
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• For Filling
• 2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries (thawed) (from 8-oz bag)
• For Streusel Topping - modification...use only half of this.
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

Details

Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 60mins
Adapted from inspiredtaste.net

Preparation

Step 1

* Heat oven to 325°F. Spray 8- or 9-inch square pan with cooking spray.

* In food processor, place graham crackers, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon lemon peel. Cover; process with on-and-off pulses until crumbs form.

* Add melted butter. Cover; process with 3 to 4 pulses until incorporated.

* Press mixture evenly in bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes. Cool.

* Mix cream cheese, eggs, 2 tablespoons lemon peel, the lemon juice and 1/2 cup granulated sugar until smooth. Pour filling over crust.

* Top with blueberries.

* In medium bowl, mix topping ingredients with fork or fingers until crumbly. Sprinkle over filling.

* Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until topping is lightly browned and center is almost set (center should jiggle only slightly when moved).

* Cool 1 hour on cooling rack. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled.

* Store in refrigerator