Berry Cheesecake Bars

Happy Cheesecake Day!  I’ve had this tasty recipe for ages, and today was the perfect day to share it with you all!  I’m not a huge cheesecake fan, but these bars are the perfect size for me.  Plus the raspberries make it delightful!  I also have a feeling that Gary might not be able to resist these little morsels since they have just about everything he could want in a dessert. I cut my version in half since I am going on vacation again soon.  I didn’t want to share too many.  Just call me selfish when it comes to tasty treats!

Makes: About 24 Bars

Ingredients (Full Recipe):

Crust:

18 Graham Cracker Boards – Crushed

• Variation: Use Chocolate Graham Crackers

1/4 Cup  Sugar

3/4 Cup  (1 1/2 sticks) Unsalted Butter – Melted

Swirl:

1/2 Pint Fresh Raspberries

2 Teaspoons Sugar

Filling:

32 Ounces Cream Cheese – Softened

1 Cup Sugar

3 Large Eggs

1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

• I didn’t have enough vanilla, so I used raspberry extract instead.

Directions:

1. Crush graham crackers.

2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan with foil.

3. In a bowl mix crushed crackers, butter, and sugar.  Press mixture into the bottom of the pan.

4. Bake for 7 minutes or until slightly dry but still soft.

5. Set aside 1/2 cup of raspberries.

6. Put the remaining raspberries in a bowl with the 2 teaspoons of sugar and beat with a mixer until the berries are not longer together and most parts of the berry have been smashed.

• Instead of using a mixer a blender will work as well.  Use the puree setting if you choose this method.

7. Strain seeds and solid parts.  You should be left with about 1/4 cup of raspberry juice. Set aside for later use.

8. In a large bowl beat softened cream cheese until smooth.  Beat in sugar, eggs, vanilla, and juice.

9. In a medium bowl pour in 2 cups of the cream cheese mixture.  Mix in raspberry juice.

10. Dot the graham cracker crust with remaining raspberries.

11. Dollop both batters into the pan.  Swirl with a knife or spoon to swirl.

12. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.  Cool slightly after removing from the oven.

13.  Refrigerate until cold.  Cut into bars.

• Store bars in the fridge until ready to eat.

* If you want another recipe check out the cheesecake my sister made!

**As I re-read the ingredients I realized that I used only a quarter of the cream cheese and should have used an additional 8 ounces.  That is why the full raspberry is visible above the cheesecake layer.  This is just another reminder that I need to make sure to read the recipe twice and to actually read not skim.