Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

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I took a week off of blogging and baking to celebrate a dear friends engagement and my birthday.  It seems celebrations tend to extend for an entire week, or at least ours do! What better to bake then lemon blueberry cheesecake bars, after a week long of celebrations!!

When I came across this recipe I almost fell to the floor.  Blueberries-my family's favorite, lemon-my family's favorite and cheesecake- my family's favorite!!  


These were the perfect after school snack for the first day of school!  My daughter started her 3rd year at Montessori today.  If you aren't familiar with Montessori lingo, basically a 3rd year means you're 'officially cool!'  

When it was pick up time my daughter came running to me and said "Moooooom!! Guess what?! I got to sit in the back and was even able to sit on my knees!! Can you believe it??"

Ah, the simplicity and excitement of being a 4 year old! 


The excitement of 3rd year privileges was short lived once I told her about the delicious treats waiting at home.  Usually she begs for yo yum yum (frozen yogurt) after school but today not a peep.  

Just a content, happy, hungry child! 



Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars


Ingredients


For Base:
Butter, for greasing
2 tablespoon sugar
1/8 tablespoon ground cinnamon
9 graham crackers
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted


For the Filling:
16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 eggs
2 lemons, zested and juiced
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Directions


For the Base:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Grease the bottom of a 9 by 9-inch baking pan with butter.  Then place parchment paper over the top, pressing down at the corners.  In a food processor, process the sugar, cinnamon and graham crackers until you have the consistency of breadcrumbs.  Add the melted butter and pulse a couple of times to fully incorporate.  Pour into the lined baking pan and firmly pat down with the bottom of a glass.  Bake for about 12 minutes, or until set.

For the filling:
Add cream cheese, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar to the food processor and pulse until well combined.  It should have a smooth consistency.  Pour onto the cooked graham cracker base and then sprinkle with blueberries.  They will sink slightly but should be half exposed.

Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes, or until the center only slightly jiggles.  Remove from the oven and cool completely before Refrigerating for at least 3 hours.  Once set, remove from pan using the parchment lining and slice into 10 rectangular bars.

Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence

64 comments:

  1. The pictures on this post are really stunning. The bars are just heavenly with those big blueberries and the graham crust. Simply delicious.

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  2. Those are gorgeous. The blueberries oozing out the sides look amazing!

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  3. I love, love, love cheesecake; and blueberries; and lemon. I must be a part of your family! These bars do look amazing. I can't wait to give the recipe a try. Many thanks.

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  4. These are absolutely wonderful, aren't they? I've made Tyler's recipe before and it's just off the hook! I'm so glad that everyone enjoyed them. Happy belated birthday!

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  5. Your children are adorable as the bars are delicious looking. I'm taken with the presentation layered in brown paper - bravo!

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  6. I love the photos, they're just gorgeous! The story of your 4 yr old is so cute ^^

    http://cupcakes-music-fashion.blogspot.com/

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  7. These..are...beautiful..I half want to admire them and half want to stuff as many in my face as humanly possible! Gorgeous post, and happy belated birthday! :)

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  8. These bars are bright & stunning. Your little gal is precious ;)

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  9. These pictures are absolutely beautiful. I especially love the one of your daughter with the blueberries! Beautiful blog! Adding it to my reader right now

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  10. omg love these! Sharing on my facebook fan page today

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  11. Those look so amazing. Your photos are beautiful!

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  12. Oh boy! That's a delectable, mouthwatering cheesecake. I would love to try it.

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  13. Just lovely. What great berries the summer gave us this year!

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  14. Great cheesecake recipes on http://teenage-baking.blogspot.com/

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  15. Man, I would be SO happy to come home to these after a long day at school!

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  16. I love this post! Love the pics of Lo and clever use of the parchment paper in the top pic. Can you believe these bars tasted even better then the look?! Yea I got to try them;)

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  17. This is making me hungry

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  18. Wow, what a beautiful dessert, lovely....keeping the recipe:)
    http://mywanderingspoon.wordpress.com/2011/09/08/fresh-baby-carrot-cream-soup-and-happy-start-of-the-new-school-year/

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  19. Yes, we had amazing berries this year! :) Love all these wonderful comments! Thanks so much!

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  20. I love the look of these - you can't go wrong with blueberries, lemon or cheesecake on our house either so I will be making them asap! Thank you!

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  21. Now this is a cheesecake I could make! It looks absolutely delicious!

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  22. I made this the other week and it was INCREDIBLE!!! I used blackberries instead, and I loved it. Thank you so much for this recipe!

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  23. Sorry if this is a ridiculous questions...but I'm not sure what 9 graham crackers are. I bought a box of Honey Maid and they come in a big piece but are actually sectioned into like 6 or 8 pieces. So would it be 9 of the long pieces?

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  24. Thanks for the quick response!! I'm that much closer to your yummy cheesecake. I'm going to substitute strawberries for blueberries though as I'm a bit allergic to fresh blueberries. Can't wait!! Thanks again!

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  25. Of course!! :) Can't wait to hear how they turned out! Strawberries sound fantastic! Someone else sub'd blackberries for the blue...Both sound delish! xo

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  26. These are gorgeous! What a delicious dessert...yum...these look so fresh and tasty. :)

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  27. don't know if i can get fresh blueberries right now. can i use frozen (thawed) berries?

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  28. Hi there! Absolutely! Frozen will work just wonderful! :)

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  29. I did this recipe tonight and the cream cheese that I used turned curd-like when I was whipping it with the eggs, sugar, lemon and lemon zest. I've never had it do that before. I ended up adding one more 8 oz pkg of Philly cream cheese (the other was store brand) and then it got creamy and a little more sugar --- so I had to cook longer, but then they were good. Not sure if it was too much lemon juice or what?? Any ideas??

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    Replies
    1. This happens to me a lot when I use cream cheese with lemon juice.
      I have noticed though that Philly Cream Cheese is recommended by several experienced bakers like The Cake Bible lady and Cake Boss and does work better it seems. But could be the lemon juice! Happens to me all the time and when I am making lemon cheesecake for other people I just use lemon extract instead. A lesser amount, but the acid won't break down the cream cheese.

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  30. Hi Michele! Hmmmmm, was the cream cheese expired? I haven't heard of this problem. It could be to much lemon. Maybe try whipping the cream cheese first then slowly adding the other ingredients, beating well after each addition. Let me know if this works for you, and yes, maybe stick with good ole philly! See if that helps! :)

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  31. I haven't tried this one yet, but will try and get the ingredients this weekend and I will post to let you know how it turned out.

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  32. I don't have a 9x9 pan, what do you think is the best substitute? (I have 8x8, 10x10 or a 9" or 10" round)

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  33. Goldstein- looking forward to hearing how they turned out :)

    Maria- I would do the 8x8, but you'll need to cook them longer. Maybe by 10 minutes. make sure it's still slightly jiggly but set :)

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  34. ok thanks so much! making them today!

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  35. Sounds wonderful... but what is the purpose of putting butter in the pan that you are lining with parchment paper? Just to make the parchment stay in place?

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  36. Yep!!! without the butter the parchment would slip all over the place! :) I've tries without... Serious disaster! ;-)

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  37. Has anyone tried a no-bake version by omitting the eggs?

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  38. did cupcakes, big hit!!!

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    Replies
    1. Hi! Please tell me how you made these into cupcakes:) I'd love to make some for my mom's birthday. Thank you in advance:)

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  39. These are perfect! I made them this weekend and posted them on my blog with a link back to yours. Great recipe!!

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  40. Made these yesterday and they were a hit!!! Tasted absolutely amazing and turned out perfect!! Thank you

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  41. Could you use wild frozen blueberries?

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    Replies
    1. No, I wouldn't use frozen. It would make the cheesecake bars to mushy :)

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  42. I made these Saturday morning and they were fabulous!!! I have always been too scared to attempt anything involving cheesecake before. But your directions were so easy and they turned out perfect! My family all loved them also, I can't wait to make them again!! I also made the raspberry/blueberry recipe and they were fantastic also!! I didn't have another 9x9 pan so I made them in a springform 9" circle and it was perfect. Thank you!!

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  43. Do you have to use the parchment paper in the bottom? I'm not worried about uniform or exact pieces. Thank you :)

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    1. Hi! Yes, I would use the parchment on the bottom as well as the sides. It helps to slide the cheesecake pieces out easily ;)

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  44. Found this recipe on Pintrest and I must say you make it look to good to eat... Almost. Do you think using a spring pan vs. the parchment paper would work? What about lemon juice rather than fresh and zest?

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  45. For those out there who use the metric system of measurement, what is a stick of butter?

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  46. Hi Epicurean Mum
    My friend made this delicious slice recipe for a class party and ever since then I have been begging her for the recipe! I absolutely love the pictures, your story and the beautiful set out of your blog. You seem to know a lot about food styling and presentation and as a current cooking student, I find this all very informative and interesting!
    Keep up the great recipes!!!
    xxx

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  47. Katie!!
    I just came across your blog. Love it:) I tried these cheesecake bars. AMAZING! They are delicious. Your pictures are gorgeous. They make it all the more convincing.
    Thank you!!!

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  48. Hi! I am planning on making this recipe for a Canadian Thanksgiving get together. Unfortunately, I think the graham crackers I bought may not be packaged the same as yours (based on reading above comments), and I'm wondering if you know how many cups of crumbs it works out to be?

    Cheers,
    Amanda

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  49. There's an Italian restaurant that sells this same cheesecake so I had to find a recipe. I made this Monday night. Half way through Tuesday, between my husband & I, it was almost gone...lol. Making it again tonight & will definitely make it for Thanksgiving. I might also try one with strawberries. So delicious!!!

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  50. I would also like to know how many cups of graham crumbs would be needed. Thanks, can't wait to try this recipe. I'm on a blueberry lemon kick.

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  51. Hi, I'm looking forward to making this as I'm on a blueberry and lemon kick. I'm also wondering how many cups of graham crumbs I would need to use.

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  52. These look delicious. If I wanted to make them in a 9x13 pan, would I just need to double the recipe? Do you think that would work?

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    Replies
    1. I made a 9X13 pan and used the exact same instructions, just doubling everything. They came out fine :)

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  53. Hello from Peru!!!! I have a couple of questions as I am making this tomorrow and philly cream cheese is expensive here, but I am pregnant and need this!!!!!!.....when you talk about 9 graham crackers...do you mean packages? and in the filling instructions ...are the eggs whole eggs?
    Thanks!

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  54. Found this recipe on Pinterest and I have to say, it's delicious! It was a huge hit on the 4th of July. Cheers!

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  55. Thank you for sharing the recipe :) I just made it last night and I cannot wait to make it again! Hands down an amazing dish for summer to pass around at cookouts :)

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