When some of my fave bloggers suggested that a celebration for National Cheesecake Day was in order, I knew I had to join in on the celebration.
My first cheesecake memory is the Blueberry Cheesecake at Sage Allen in Westfarms Mall in Connecticut. Sage Allen was essentially the Macy’s of the day and they had this swanky restaurant that was lined with old movie star B&W portraits and had a chic feel (at least it appeared so to my 8 year old self). I remember ordering the blueberry cheesecake and that’s where my love affair with cheesecake began.
Over the years – I’ve had my share of good and bad cheesecakes and, to date, blueberry is one of my absolute favorites (besides my buddy Bec’s to. die. for. Pumpkin Cheesecake but I digress). When deciding what recipe to share for National Cheesecake Day, I knew it would have to be these divine Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars – full of citrus & vanilla flavors studded with fresh Jersey blueberries and an almond cookie crust. Tyler Florence had a fantastic cheesecake bar recipe that I played with and the result was a winner!
This recipe couldn’t be easier to make – pulse some almond biscotti-esque cookies and bake into a rich crust while you whip up a luscious cream cheese vanilla cheesecake filling flavored with lots of lemon juice and lemon zest. Pour over some blueberries, stud with a bit more, a sauna in the oven followed by a bit of a chill and *viola* you will have Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars that will be a new dessert favorite. They are very rich in flavor so I opted for a bit of a smaller bar and it was the perfect nibble. These would even be perfect in mini-bite size form.
On to the recipe:
Gather your ingredients
Two of my favorite extracts – Vanilla Bean “Crush” and Fiori di Sicilia – perfect for citrus pairings
Time to pulse the almond toast biscotti-esque cookies
Followed by whipping the batter
Pouring over the blueberries
Jiggly out of the oven and ready to cool
Now – I dare you to have just one bar – g’head
Adapted from Tyler Florence
Yields 12
These Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars are creamy, rich and delicious. Packed with fresh ripe blueberries and accented with a touch of lemon, vanilla and almond, these Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars will be a favorite sweet treat!
1 hrPrep Time
1 hrCook Time
2 hrTotal Time
Save Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 - 12 Almond Toast Biscotti type cookies
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
- 4 tablespoons of melted butter
- 2 8 ounce packages of low-fat cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- Zest and juice of 2 large lemons
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon of Fiori de Sicilia (optional)
- 1/8 teaspoon of kosher salt
- 1 3/4 cup of fresh blueberries, divided
- Powdered Sugar for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Butter and/or spray an 8x8 pan well. If desired, line the baking pan with foil or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a food processor, pulse together the cookies and the sugar until it is a finely ground.
- While the food processor was running, slowly pour in the melted butter.
- Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan and bake for about 12 - 15 minutes.
- Let cool.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extra, fiori de sicilia extract (if using) and salt on medium high speed until everything is fully combined and smooth.
- Into the cooled crust, scatter 1/2 cup of blueberries and pour the cheesecake mixture over it.
- Add the remaining blueberries to the top so that they sink somewhat but are still visible.
- Bake for 35 -45 minutes, until the cheesecake doesn't jiggle except for a slight jiggle in the center of the pan.
- Remove to a cooling rack and let cool for 45 minutes.
- Chill in a fridge for about 4 hours.
- Remove from pan and cut into bars.
- Dust lightly with powdered sugar.
- Enjoy!
Calories
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Here are some other fantastic cheeesecake recipes from some absolutely amazing bloggers:
Baked Cheesecakes
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- Blackberry Goat Cheese Cheesecake from Baking a Moment
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- Blueberry Ricotta Cream Cheesecake from Hungry Couple
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- Caramel Macchiato Cheesecake from Wishes and Dishes
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- Chocolate Cheesecake w/ Whisky Toffee Shards from girlichef
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- Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cheesecake from Savvy Eats
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- Coconut Cheesecake with Macadamia Crust from All Day I Dream About Food
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- Hawaiian Chantilly Layer Cheesecake from Wallflour Girl
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- Hawaiian Mini Cheesecakes from Pint Sized Baker
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- Key Lime Pie Cheesecake from Love and Confections
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- Lemon Cheesecake from Shugary Sweets
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- Lemon Ginger Panna Cotta Cheesecake with Blueberry Sauce from Girl Versus Dough
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- Lightened Up Apricot-Swirl Cheesecake from Take A Bite Out of Boca
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- Lilikoi Cheesecake with Macadamia Nut Shortbread Crust from Dieter’s Downfall
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- Mango Cheesecake (vegan) from Jessiker Bakes
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- Mini cheesecakes with a toasted coconut crust (gluten free) from Quarter Life (Crisis) Cuisine
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- Mini Mascarpone Cheesecakes with Strawberry Balsamic Topping from Boulder Locavore
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- Mom’s Cheesecake from Magnolia Days
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- New York Style Cheesecake from URBAN BAKES
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- Oreo Cheesecake (vegan) from Namely Marly
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- Oreo Ripple Cheesecake from Overtime Cook
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- Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Nutella Ganache Topping from The Redhead Baker
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- Pear cheesecake with gingersnap crust from Roxana’s Home Baking
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- Pumpkin Cheesecake from Lady Behind The Curtain
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- Rainbow Cheesecake from In Katrina’s Kitchen
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- Raspberry Cheesecake with Oreo Crust from Hip Foodie Mom
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- Ricotta Cheesecake from French Press
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- Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
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- S’mores Cheesecake from The Gunny Sack
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- Snickers Cheesecake from Life, Love and Sugar
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- Sugar Cookie Cheesecake from Munchkin Munchies
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- Vanilla Bean Cheesecake from Wine & Glue
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- Very Berry Cheesecake with Chocolate Oreo Crust from JavaCupcake
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- White Chocolate Cheesecake with Macadamia Nuts and Caramel from Taste and Tell
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- White Chocolate Frangelico Cheesecake from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
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- White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake from Will Cook For Smiles
No Bake Cheesecakes:
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- Butter Pecan Caramel No-Bake Mini Cheesecakes from Simply Southern Baking
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- Cherry and Pistachio No Bake Cheesecake with Animal Cracker Crust from Cravings of a Lunatic
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- Mini No Bake Lime Cheesecakes from Miss in the Kitchen
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- Neapolitan No Bake Cheesecake from Grandbaby Cakes
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- No-Bake Berry Cheesecake from Food Lust People Love
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- No Bake Blackberry Cheesecake from You Made That?
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- No Bake Dulce de Leche Cheesecake with Caramelized Peaches from The Food Charlatan
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- No-Bake Limoncello Cheesecake from Cake Duchess
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- No Bake Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake from White Lights on Wednesday
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- No-Bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake from Crunchy Creamy Sweet
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- No Bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake from Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts
Cheesecake Beverages:
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- Black Raspberry Cheesecake Milkshake from Blahnik Baker
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- Caramel Cheesecake Martini from Happy Food, Healthy Life
Cheesecake Cookies and Bars:
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- Caramel Overload Cheesecake Bars from Crumbs and Chaos
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- Cherry Cheesecake Brownies from Inside BruCrew Life
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- Chocolate Brownie Cheesecake Cookies from Lemons for Lulu
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- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars from Chez CateyLou
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- Healthier Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownie Bars from Texanerin Baking
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- Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars from Cooking In Stilettos
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- No Bake Coconut Lime Cheesecake Bars from Beyond Frosting
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- No Bake Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Bars from Garnish with Lemon
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- Strawberry Chocolate Ganache Cheesecake Bars from A Kitchen Addiction
Cheesecake Desserts and Treats:
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- Banana Foster No Bake Cheesecake Shooters from Mind Over Batter
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- Chocolate Nutella Cheesecake Cake from gotta get baked
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- Key Lime Trifles from Hoosier Homemade
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- Strawberry Cheesecake Pots from Barbara Bakes
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- Triple Brigadeiro Cheesecake Tart from From Brazil To You
Frozen Cheesecakes and Treats:
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- Blackberry Cheesecake Popsicles from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
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- Chocolate Carael Cheesecake Ice Cream from Chocolate Moosey
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- Frozen PB&C Cheesecake from Noshing With The Nolands
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- Frozen Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Nutter Butter Crust from Crazy for Crust
