Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
Today’s post is in honor of the tail-end of blueberry season. With imported blueberries, you can most definitely make this delicious treat all year long and if fresh blueberries are hard to come by or not looking their best, frozen blueberries are a suitable substitute. Fresh or frozen, in season or not, this recipe for Blueberry Cheesecake Bars has secured a place in my family cookbook and will be on repeat all year long.
Blueberry Cheesecake Bars are simple to make and actually “semi-homemade”–refrigerated sugar cookie dough, some cream cheese, a little lemon and of course, the aforementioned blueberries (fresh or frozen). The original recipe included an “optional 1/4 c of granulated sugar” which I thought was odd. I mean, isn’t sugar what dessert is all about? How can that much sugar be optional? Having been accused of not “getting” desserts because I am not a “dessert person” I, of course, included the sugar in my first batch. Who was I to tempt fate? The bars were delicious but definitely teetering on the “too sweet” threshold so when I decided to make them again the following week, I boldly omitted the optional sugar. Our family verdict is that the bars certainly did not need the sugar (the sugar cookie dough is plenty sweet) and the drizzled icing seals the deal. The recipe below reflects my preference to omit the granulated sugar.
And while the Blueberry Cheesecake Bars come together easily, do factor in the time to cook and cool completely before serving–3 hours minimum. A perfect dessert to make in advance to serve to friends, should we ever have them over or be invited anywhere again. Enjoy!
Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×9 baking pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper, hanging parchment over sides of pan for easy removal.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add vanilla, egg, and lemon zest. Beat until smooth.
- Press half of sugar cookie dough evenly into the bottom of the pan.
- Spread cream cheese mixture over dough (it's okay if it's so thin that it's pourable, mine was), and sprinkle evenly with blueberries.
- Drop chunks of remaining dough evenly over blueberries.
- Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until cookie topping is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely at room temperature, then chill in refrigerator for 2 hours.
- To make icing, whisk together lemon juice and powdered sugar in a bowl, adding more or less lemon juice for desired consistency. Drizzle over chilled bars and allow to set before slicing.