Skip to main content

Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

These delicious cheesecake squares are a riff off of Natasha's Kitchen (check out that great food blog!). I've tweaked the ingredients to my liking; they're rich, flavorful and just a bit decadent. All great for the Memorial Day BBQ we attended!

Make sure you make then enough in advance to chill in the refrigeerator for at least several hours.


Graham Crust:

7 oz graham crackers

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp sugar

1 stick butter (1/2 cup), melted


Cheesecake:

4 bars cream cheese (32 oz), softened to room temperature (important!)

1-1/4 cup sugar

5 large eggs, room temperature (important!)

Zest of 1 lemon

2 Tbsp sour cream

Juice of 1 Lemon (2-3 Tbsp)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

12 oz fresh raspberries


Preheat oven to 350F.  Oil a 9x13-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper for easier removal of cooked & cooled cheesecake.


Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until grainy. Pour into a 4 cup measuring cup. You should have 2 cups. Adjust accordingly. Stir in the salt and sugar and then incorporate the melted butter evenly. 

Pour crumbs into the baking sheet, and use the back of a large spoon or spatula to push down the crust to make an even layer.


Bake crumbs for 8-10 minutes. When baked, remove from oven and cool. Reduce oven temperature to 325.


Meanwhile, place the softened cream cheese and sugar into a stand mixer’s bowl (or if you are using a hand-held mixer, use a sturdy bowl). Blend on high speed for 3-5 minutes, or until you have a smooth creamy mixture. 

Add the zest, lemon juice, vanilla and sour cream and continue blending over medium speed until well mixed. Add eggs one at a time and blend to mix in each well.


Fold in two thirds of the raspberries, reserving the remaining for garnish. 

Pour cheese mixture onto the crust and smooth out.  Rap the pan lightly on a wooden cutting board a few times to remove bubbles.


Bake cheesecake for about 45-55 minutes until the cake is starting to brown around the edges, but is still quite wobbly in the center.

Remove cheesecake from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature (this could take up to 2 hours). When completely cooled, wrap with foil and chill in the refrigerator, ideally overnight.


Using the extended lip of parchment paper, carefully remove the cheesecake from the pan. Cut into about 2-inch squares, cleaning the knife after each slice!


Garnish with remaining raspberries and lemon zest.

Makes about 12 cheesecake squares.

Labels:

Comments

  1. Nancy LJune 1, 2026 at 2:35 PM

    This are a oh my goodness delicious cheesecake bars!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Umami Beef Short Ribs Samin Nosrat

This is the penultimate prep for beef short ribs.  Based on the superb documentary by Samin Nosrat, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, this is the most umami rib dish you will ever have.  Its the combination of red miso and soy sauce that marinates and flavors the beef - give it a long time to work right - that means overnight in the fridge; it's worth the planning ahead. 6 beef short ribs on the bone, about 3-4 lb 1 large sweet yellow onion, diced 2 stalks celery, diced 1 jalapeño pepper, minced 4 cloves garlic, halved Marinade: 1/4 cup red miso 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup pale dry sherry or Mirin rice wine 1 Tbsp sesame oil 1 Tbsp honey 2 cloves garlic, minced Salt the ribs generously with coarse salt and let rest overnight in the refrigerator in a resealable plastic bag. Whisk together the marinade.   Pour into the plastic bag and allow to marinate on the counter for about 2-3 hours, or again overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat...
Post a Comment
Read more

Rosemary Chimichurri

I am making this fresh aromatic condiment more and more often. It can be used as a topping for grilled meats, fish, and for many other flavoring opportunities. I now keep some in the refrigerator almost at all times. 4 Tbsp fresh rosemary leaves large palmful fresh cilantro, leaves and stems 3 cloves garlic 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes juice of 1/2 lime (or lemon), and the zest if you like 1/4 tsp salt fresh ground black pepper to taste 1/4 cup olive oil Pulse the rosemary, cilantro and garlic in a small food processor (You could also use a mortar and pestle.) Tip into a small bowl and stir in the remaining ingredients. Cook’s Note: If you haven’t noticed, I love chimichurri sauce.   It’s zesty, and full of aromatics. It goes on so many dishes and is a great ingredient for so many things.   Make some and keep it in the fridge for inspiration. I use fresh rosemary and cilantro as my green herbs, but you could use oregano and parsley, which is also popular.   Many peo...
Post a Comment
Read more

'Back-of-the-bag' King Arthur Oatmeal Bread

This is one of the best loaves of bread I have ever made, based on a famous recipe.  Friends swear about King Arthur recipes, and now I do too.  I only modified King Arthur's recipe slightly, adding the yolk of the egg I used for the eggwash on the crust. Goes great with a big pot of bean soup.  And it toasts up so nicely - aroma therapy for the whole house! 3-1/4 to 3-1/2 cups bread flour 1 cup old fashioned oats 2 tsp active dry yeast 2 Tbsp honey 1-1/2 tsp salt 2 Tbsp butter, finely diced 1 egg yolk 1-1/4 cup lukewarm (about 100F) milk 1 egg white plus 1 Tbsp water about 1/4 cup old fashioned oats for topping Mix ingredients to a firm but still tacky dough.  You’ll have to adjust the final amount of dough to the humidity of your kitchen and flour - err on the sticky side for a lighter, moister loaf.  Knead dough 5 minutes.  Roll dough around in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow dough to rise an hour. ...
Post a Comment
Read more