I am a very lucky girl this summer. Not only do I have the summer off, but I have 2 trips planned for the remainder of the summer! On Friday, bright and early, I head to the Bahamas with some of my best college girlfriends for a bachelorette party! Beyond excited doesn’t even describe what I am feeling right now, I feel like a kid on Christmas morning. I haven’t been away with girlfriends since my senior year of college so I am super pumped to get in some quality girl time in a beautiful setting. I do get to see them all the time, but our get-togethers always include our men, don’t get me wrong I enjoy all of their lovely guys, but sometimes it’s nice just to do things with the girls. You know what I mean! Later in the month of August, Blair and I are off on a Mediterranean cruise, told you I am a lucky girl.
I have been trying my best to get in as much baking and cooking as possible before summer quickly fades away. We are already booked solid with plans every single weekend in the month of August. I also need to find time to get back into my sweatshop classroom to set up for my 2nd graders. I have had this particular recipe pinned for ages, but I was waiting for the perfect moment to make them. That moment happened to me when I saw the first batch of Jersey blueberries for super cheap at my farmer’s market. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them. I kind of have a love affair with the lemon + blueberry combination (as you all know) so I knew these would be awesome. Add in the fact that they have another favorite of mine, cheesecake and you have got a win-win situation.
They start off with a moist graham cracker base that has the slightest hint of spice from the cinnamon. The cheesecake layer has a beautiful refreshing lemon taste from the zest and juice of a lemon. Sprinkled with the tart blueberries you have a delicious snack dessert. Photographing these babies was hard since every time I went to cut the bars, I found myself cutting off the tiniest snippet to sample. We have been happily enjoying them and they may make another appearance soon before those local blueberries disappear!
Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients:
For the graham cracker base:
- Butter or cooking spray, 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 9×9 or 8×8 baking pan with butter or cooking spray. Then place parchment paper over the top, pressing down at the corners making sure you have a slight overhang. In a food processor, process the sugar, cinnamon, and graham crackers until you have the same consistency of breadcrumbs. Add the melted butter slowly and pulse a couple of times to fully incorporate, the mixture will look like wet sand. Scrape 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, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar to the food processor and pulse until well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure it is combined before adding the next. This should result in a smooth consistency. Pour onto the cooked graham cracker base and then sprinkle evenly with blueberries. They will sink slightly, this is okay.
Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes, or until the center only slightly jiggles. I used an 8×8 pan and found that 45 minutes was the perfect amount. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Once completely cooled, refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Once set, remove from pan using the parchment lining and slice into bars.
