Recipes - Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
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Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

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Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Chill Time: 2 hours

Created: February 20th, 2025 Updated: February 20th, 2025
Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

Lemon Shortbread Crust

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar (heaping)

  • zest of 1 lemon

  • 1 1/4 sticks butter, softened

  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  • 2 cups flour

  • 1/2 cup almond flour

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Cheesecake Filling

  • 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

  • 1/4 cup full-fat plain Greek yogurt, room temperature

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar

  • 1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

  • 2 large eggs, room temperature

  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

  1. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position, pre-heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and line a 9-inch (23cm) square baking pan with parchment/baking paper.

  2. Add the sugar and lemon zest to a large bowl, and use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar.

  3. Add the softened butter and vanilla, and mix well with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until combined.

  4. Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture and mix well until it starts clumping together. Then, give it a knead until you get a homogeneous cookie dough.

  5. Press about ⅔ of the shortbread cookie dough (about 380g) into the lined baking pan. Smooth it out into an even layer, this is easiest done with a small offset spatula. Set the remaining ⅓ of the cookie dough aside until needed.

  6. Bake the bottom shortbread crust at 350ºF (180ºC) for about 20 minutes or until evenly golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool until warm while you prepare the cheesecake filling. Keep the oven at 350ºF (180ºC).

Cheesecake Filling

  1. In a large bowl using a balloon whisk, mix the cream cheese and yoghurt together until smooth.

  2. Mix together sugar and cornstarch (US), and add them to the cream cheese mixture. Mix well until combined.

  3. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix well until smooth.

Assembly

  1. Pour the cheesecake filling over the warm shortbread crust and smooth it out into an even layer.

  2. Scatter the blueberries evenly over the cheesecake filling, then crumble the remaining ⅓ of the shortbread cookie dough on top, making sure that you get a fairly even coverage with some of the filling and blueberries peeking through.

  3. Bake at 350ºF (180ºC) for about 40-45 minutes or until the crumble topping is golden brown and the filling is only very slightly wobbly when you shake the baking pan.

  4. Allow the bars to cool completely to room temperature in the baking pan and then chill them in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Once chilled, use the overhanging parchment/baking paper to remove them out of the pan, slice and serve. You can dust them with some powdered/icing sugar, if you wish.

  5. The blueberry cheesecake bars will be even better after an overnight chill in the fridge.