Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

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These incredibly simple Blueberry Cheesecake Bars are a no-fail way to enjoy your favorite dessert. Rich and creamy cheesecake swirled with blueberries served on a graham cracker crust. This will absolutely become your new favorite dessert.

This recipe was originally published April 21, 2014. It has since been updated to include fresh photos and helpful tips.

RECIPE FEATURES

• Quick and Easy: You can have these bars ready for the oven in around 20 minutes, and fully baked just 25 minutes after that!
• Fuss-Free: No water bath, no overnight baking, and no cracks.
• Freezer Friendly: You can freeze baked bars for up to 3 months.

There is something irresistible about these blueberry cheesecake squares. The rich and creamy cheesecake filling is toned down slightly by the fresh blueberry sauce and everything is brought together with the buttery graham cracker crust.

It’s like taking the taste of a New York style cheesecake, but leaving all of the fuss of a classic cheesecake behind. These are practically no-fail, quicker, and an easier alternative. Perfect for cheesecake beginners.

Looking for something even easier? Try my No-Bake Cheesecake Bars.

CHEESECAKE BAR INGREDIENTS

Like many of my dessert recipes, this one uses pantry and refrigerator staples. Specifically, lots of baking basics like flour and sugar. The biggest ingredient tip I can give you is to use name brand cream cheese. That is the only item we’ve seen that actually can make a difference in the flavor and texture.

• Butter: Reach for salted butter. This is used in the crust and the salt enhances the flavor of the crackers. No salted butter? No problem. Add a pinch of salt to your crust mixture.
• Graham Crackers: Skip the cinnamon topped crackers and stick with the classic. They have a buttery flavor that is ideal for cheesecake.
• Cream Cheese: The only item I’ll tell you to stick with name brand. Philadelphia cream cheese tastes the best.
• Sugar: Granulated sugar is whipped with the cream cheese to give you a great fluffy base batter.
• Eggs: Large eggs at room temperature. This is key to helping the batter come together without overmixing.
• Milk: 2% milk or higher works best for this cheesecake.
• Vanilla: I like pure vanilla extract. I feel like it leaves less of a chemical aftertaste, but you can use imitation in a pinch.
• Blueberries: Fresh or frozen berries OR you can use a berry jam, like I did, for a beautiful swirl.

HOW TO MAKE BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE BARS

This is a no-fail cheesecake recipe. Why? Because you do not have to worry about sinking, cracks, or under baked filling. Creating a bar version of the classic dessert eliminates all of these common issues.

• PREP: Line a pan with parchment paper for easy cleanup and a handy way to get the bars out once they have baked. Preheat the oven and measure all of the ingredients.
• CRUST: Make the crust by finely blending the crackers and stirring together with the melted butter. Press firmly down in the pan and bake for 10 minutes.
• FILLING: For the filling, mix the room temperature cream cheese with the sugar using an electric mixer. Add the lemon juice, milk, and vanilla. Continue to beat until combined fully. Turn the mixer on low speed and add the eggs, stirring until just combined.
• SWIRL: Pour the batter over the cooked crust. Sprinkle with fresh or frozen berries OR swirl the top with blueberry sauce/jam. I did this by dropping spoonfuls of berry sauce over the batter and used a toothpick to swirl.
• BAKE: Bake until the bars are set. Allow them to cool completely and transfer to the refrigerator to chill.

HELPFUL RECIPE TIPS

This is a fairly simple recipe to make and much easier to make than an entire cheesecake recipe. Just as delicious without a ton of work. But there are a few tips and tricks I’ve learned to help give you the very best blueberry cheesecake squares.

• Use room temperature ingredients. This ensures your batter will come together quickly and evenly while mixing.
• Try not to overmix the batter. Over mixing a cheesecake batter is what leads to cracking. I recommend using a hand mixer (affiliate).
• Mix up the berries you use for other fun cheesecake bar variations!
• I used a graham cracker crust. You can easily substitute wafer cookies or even Oreo’s.
• Watch closely. This cheesecake is done in 30 to 45 minutes.
• Cool completely before moving to the refrigerator.

FAQs

MORE MUST-TRY BLUEBERRY RECIPES

• Blueberry Sweet Rolls
• Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes
• Blueberry Biscuits
• Crisp and Fluffy Blueberry Waffles

MORE DELICIOUS CHEESECAKES TO TRY

• Salted Caramel Cheesecake Bars
• Strawberry Cheesecake Bars
• Banana Cream Cheesecake

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