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Sunday, May 26, 2013

Blueberry Cheesecake Bars (It's National Blueberry Cheesecake Day)!

Did you know that today is National Blueberry Cheesecake Day? Well, it is! May 26th is a day that is dedicated to eating blueberry cheesecake. I found out about it this past week while I was out on the boat  reading Self Magazine. I made a mental note to myself to remember to make blueberry cheesecake this weekend so I could celebrate such a joyous occasion.

Instead of making a cheesecake, I decided that cheesecake bars would be a better choice. They are easier to make than a cheesecake AND they have less calories (but still lots of yummy yummy goodness). I made the bars last night to serve for dessert, but we ended up eating them as a mid-day snack before dinner. Greg ate two large bars & said he really liked them, which is good, because earlier in the day he had said we didn't need to eat dessert. And obviously he didn't know that we really did NEED the blueberry cheesecake bars, otherwise, we'd be ignoring a national holiday!

Hope everyone has a wonderful blueberry cheesecake day & Memorial Day. Enjoy!

Recipe for Blueberry Cheesecake Bars with Lemon 

INGREDIENTS:
For the crust
1 1/2 cup of graham cracker crumbs
2 1/2 Tbsp. of granulated sugar
A pinch of lemon zest
4 1/2 Tbsp. of unsalted butter, melted

For the cheesecake filling
2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. of granulated sugar
Zest of 1 large lemon
Juice from the large lemon
A dash of ground nutmeg (what is a dash)?
2 eggs

For the blueberry topping
2 cups of fresh blueberries
1/2 tsp. of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp. of granulated sugar
A pinch of ground nutmeg

DIRECTIONS:
Make the crust. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease the bottom of a 9 x 9 pan with butter. Put the graham cracker crumbs, granulated sugar, lemon zest, and melted butter into a bowl. Use a spoon to mix ingredients together. Spoon mixture into the prepared pan and use your hands to evenly press crumbs down so they cover the bottom of the pan. Put pan into the oven and cook for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
While the crust is cooling, make the filling. Put the cream cheese, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and nutmeg into a large bowl. Use an electric hand mixer set on medium speed to beat together until well incorporated. Add in the eggs. Beat again with the hand mixer on medium-high speed until the mixture is smooth, about 4 minutes.
Rinse the blueberries and pat dry. Put them into a smallish bowl. Add the lemon juice, sugar, and nutmeg to the blueberries and toss to coat.
Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly on top of the crust. Use a spoon to drop the blueberries evenly on top of the cream cheese mixture. Place in oven and cook for 40 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool completely, and then place in the fridge for 4 hours before serving. When ready to serve, use a sharp knife to cut into 12 - 16 bars. Enjoy!

Each bar has approximately 210 - 275 calories (one slice of cheesecake has about 600 calories)!

Recipe Adapted from the Food Network

5 comments:

  1. I love blueberry and cheesecake together! I made lemon blueberry cheesecake bars last summer. Not on May 26th though. What a wonderful dessert :)

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  2. It is quite a delicious combo! I think any day is good for blueberry cheesecake :0)

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  3. Yum!!! That blueberry cheesecake looks delicious. Love the addition of lemon :) I had no idea that there was such a thing as 'Blueberry Cheesecake Day'! I'll have to make sure that I celebrate next year. Thanks for your recipe x

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    Replies
    1. Hi Laura! I had no idea about blueberry cheesecake day either until last week! I just stopped by your blog & it's beautiful. Happy Blogiversary to you - mine is coming up in two weeks!
      -B

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    2. Aw, thanks for the kind words and congrats! Yay, can't wait to celebrate your blogiversary too... it's quite a milestone! :)

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