Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

Phew! All the prepping and cooking for Thanksgiving is over. Don’t get me wrong. I love cooking for the family holiday dinners. But this year, I was off my game a bit. I didn’t have to host or cook for Thanksgiving last year. Maybe the year off made me rusty? I was so frazzled and disappointed with myself that I totally forgot about blogging the desserts I made. Thank goodness, my sister-in-law reminded me before it was too late for at least one of them. Sorry I don’t have all the step by step pictures that I like to take. But at least I got one of the final product before it was all eaten up! The good news is this is a no bake recipe. So that precious oven time and space during the holiday dinners won’t be needed.

CRUST INGREDIENTS:

• 12 graham cracker sheets
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

FILLING INGREDIENTS:

• 2 packages (8 ounces each package) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup powdered (confectioners’) sugar
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

BLUEBERRY SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

To make the crust:

1. Using a food processor, pulse the graham crackers until they are crumbs.
2. Add sugar and melted butter and pulse until well combined.
3. Press into the bottom of an 8 X 8 inch pan.

To make the filling:

1. Using an electric hand mixer, combine cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth.
2. Add heavy whipping cream, vanilla and almond extract, and lemon juice. Mix on high for 2-3 minutes until thickened. Pour filling over crust.
3. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. I made mine the night before, so it was refrigerated for 12 hours.

To make the sauce:

1. Combine the blueberries, sugar, butter, cornstarch, vanilla extract and lemon juice into a small saucepan.
2. Cook over medium high heat for about five minutes.  Stir frequently until the blueberries breakdown and the sauce thickens.
3. Let cool down and refrigerate until you are ready to serve the cheesecake.

Are you ready to serve? Let’s go:

1. Cut cheesecake into squares and gently remove from the pan.
2. Arrange on a platter and spoon the blueberry sauce over the top of each square.
3. Garnish with whip cream or mint sprigs. (Optional)