This is my last week before I start work again, and I wanted to bake as many things as possible before I say goodbye to my freedom. With 1 lemon and half a bag of frozen wild blueberries needing to be used, I decided to try making these bars that I once saw on someone else's blog. These bars have a light lemon flavor from the lemon zest and juice, and the wild blueberries offer a little pop of sweet juice as you're eating them. I absolutely love the combination of lemon and blueberries.
So here we go. First off, you need to make the crust for the bars. I love crust on cheesecake and wanted to make sure that I had enough to suit my liking. You can always lessen the amount of crust if you're not as big of a fan as I am. Also, the fact that these are bars and not a normal round cheesecake gave me even more reason to up the amount of crust. Do as you like! I found this box in the baking aisle.
Already crushed graham crackers for baking! How great is that?? It saves you the time and energy of crushing them yourself, although if you're in need of stress pounding, by all means, go and buy the regular box of graham crackers and pound away! To the graham crackers, add 2 tablespoons of sugar and a stick and a half melted butter.
I like to do the hand squish test to know if the graham crackers are at the right consistency. Take a chunk of graham cracker in your hand and squeeze it together. If it stays together easily, then it's good to go. If it falls apart or crumbles as you open your hand, then it probably needs a little more melted butter. Go ahead and try it.
Once you get the right consistency, grab a 9x13 pan and spray it with a little baking spray for easy release later. Pat the graham cracker firmly into the pan so that it's even. Bake in the oven at 325F for 10 minutes. After you take it out, let it cool on a wire rack while you make your cheesecake filling.
On to the filling. Using a stand mixer, mix together the cream cheese and the sour cream until it's smooth. Add the sugar next and mix until light and fluffy.
Once it's incorporated, add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each egg.
In a small bowl, combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, and the vanilla. Add that into the cream cheese mixture and mix well.
When the cream cheese mixture is nice and smooth, pour it on top of the graham cracker crust.
Sprinkle the blueberries on top. You can use fresh blueberries, but I only had frozen wild blueberries on hand. If you're using frozen blueberries, don't thaw them beforehand because they'll leave purple streaks everywhere.
Bake for about 35-40 minutes. You'll know when it's done when the middle of the cheesecake stops jiggling and is semi-firm. Don't worry if it isn't completely firm because it'll harden in the fridge. Take the cheesecake out of the oven and let cool to room temperature before you put it into the fridge. This is very important that you wait for it to cool! Let it chill in the fridge for 3-4 hours before you slice and serve. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
-13.5oz box of graham cracker crumbs
-2 tbl sugar
-1 1/2 stick butter, melted
-16 oz cream cheese, room temperature (I might use 24oz next time)
-8 oz sour cream
-3/4 cup sugar
-2 eggs
-juice and zest of 1 lemon
-1 tsp vanilla
-1.5 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly grease a 13x9in pan.
1. To make the crust, combine graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter until fully incorporated. Crust should not fall apart easily.
2. Press crust into the pan firmly and evenly.
3. Bake for 10 minutes.
4. Cool on wire rack while making the filling.
5. To make the filling, with a stand/hand mixer, mix together the cream cheese and sour cream until smooth on medium speed.
6. Add sugar and mix on med-high speed.
7. Drop in 1 egg at a time, mixing well between each egg.
8. Add lemon juice, zest, and vanilla extract to the mixture and mix until smooth.
9. Pour cream cheese onto the graham cracker crust and smooth evenly with your spatula.
10. Sprinkle the blueberries on top.
11. Bake at 325F for 35-40 minutes or until cream cheese is slightly firm. It shouldn't jiggle like jello if it's done, nor should it be completely firm.
12. Let cool to room temperature then place in the fridge for 3-4 hours before slicing.
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