Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
July’s Secret Recipe Club day has arrived! This month I was paired up with Baking and the Boys. Finally, another blogger who’s as obsessed with baking as I am! I set off to browse through Katrina’s posts and found myself tagging quite a few of them. When baked goods are involved, it’s not that surprising that I saw quite a few recipes I was interested in. And, I was excited to again be introduced to a blog I had never heard of before!
I had quite a few recipes tagged and once again, deffered to Hubby. I actually thought he would go for a different recipe, but he chose these blueberry cheesecake bars. I’m so glad he did because they are AMAZING.
They start with a chewy oat base that is baked before being topped with a homamde blueberry jam filling. Next comes a layer of cheesecake (dairy free for me, of course), and last another crumble of the oat mixture on top.
We both thoroughly enjoyed the combination of the blueberry sauce and the cheesecake (again, no surprise, remember this guy?). And the oats gave a nice chewy texture that was appreciated. After we snacked on a few of these, I put the rest in plastic bags in the freezer. Hubby threw one in his lunch every day until they were gone.
One Year Ago: Blueberry Almond Cake with Lemon Drizzle and Avon Walk Recap
Two Years Ago: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Three Years Ago: Rum Punch Cupcakes and Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting
Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
Yield: 16 bars
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup dark (or light) brown sugar, packed
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Blueberry Filling:
1 2/3 cup blueberries
3 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
2-3 tsp lemon juice
Cheesecake Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch salt
Directions:
Heat oven to 350. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with non-stick foil or parchment paper.
Prepare Crust:
In a large bowl, mix oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add melted butter and stir with fork until evenly moistened (mixture will be very crumbly). Reserve 1/2 cup crumb mixture for topping; Press remaining mixture firmly over bottom of foil-lined pan. Bake 12 minutes to set crust.
Prepare Filling:
In a small saucepan, combine blueberries, sugar and cornstarch. Stir in lemon juice. Turn heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until mixture begins to thicken slightly (about 7 minutes). Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before pouring over baked crust.
Prepare Cheesecake Filling:
In bowl of electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, vanilla and salt and beat well. Add egg and mix until combined. Pour cheesecake filling over blueberry filling.
Crumble reserved crumb mixture over top.
Bake 30 minutes until top is browned and filling is bubbly. Let cool completely in pan set on a wire rack. When cool, chill for an hour before cutting. Lift foil by ends onto a cutting board. Peel off foil; cut into 16 bars. Store in refrigerator, but serve at room temperature.
Recipe from Baking and the Boys, originally from Cookie Madness
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I’m with you–every ingredient in this salad is a winner on it’s own. Together? Forgetaboutit! The colors are beautiful and I can imagine how great it tastes with the balance of bitter, sweet, and tart.
Love the new layout, also. Way to go!
Yum! I am also addicted to kale since doing a CSA here in Boston 🙂
It’s so funny, because as I was scrolling through Tastespotting tonight and saw this post, I had to click because it looked so familiar to my winter couscous bowl… and then, I couldn’t believe it when I saw my blog credited at the bottom! This is a first for me 🙂 Thanks so much for the credit!
So you’ve recently moved back to Cincinnati? Which part? My family and I live in Anderson Township.
beantownbaker — January 13th, 2013 @ 10:02 am
Thanks so much for the recipe!!
We work in West Chester and are living in Oakley right now. Trying to find a house at some point…
I think this sounds amazing, Jen! And I love how colorful it is. I am always looking for new winter salads that are colorful, flavorful, and interesting.
beantownbaker — January 13th, 2013 @ 10:06 pm
This is definitely colorful, flavorful, and interesting. I have seriously been OBSESSED with pomegranates this winter, and this salad totally feeds into that obsession.
I’m on a major quinoa AND kale kick so this salad is right up my alley. So colorful and pretty, too!
beantownbaker — January 14th, 2013 @ 3:47 pm
Pretty food is definitely always tastier than ugly food 🙂
looks a lot like the one i posted last week 🙂 obviously, i’m all over it!!
beantownbaker — January 14th, 2013 @ 3:48 pm
Very similar indeed!
This is perfect for that kale and pomegranate I have in the fridge! I’m always excited to find new things to put together ahead of time for lunches and dinners, thanks! Hope you are settling in nicely 🙂
beantownbaker — January 14th, 2013 @ 3:49 pm
I couldn’t agree more. Making food ahead of time saves the day during the week! I can’t imagine not eating leftovers… Things are going pretty well for us in Ohio so far. Hope things are going well for you and your little bundle on the way!
Sounds great to me! I love the ingredients. And the colors 🙂
This sounds right up my alley! YUM!!
I was thinking about an easy and colorful, flavorful, and power-packed healthy side dish to bring for a potluck lunch after a trail work party this coming weekend. I had these amazing cute pumpkins to harvest from my garden and love both kale and quinoa. I thought to myself, mmmm, what if I made some kind of pumpkin kale quinoa and goat cheese salad to share? One quick internet search and I came across this gem! I modified and concocted a tad, which is normal for me. Thanks so much for the recipe and ingredient confirmations! The honey, olive oil, and smokey / spicy combo was the secret ingredient for me! Happy fooding!
beantownbaker — November 3rd, 2013 @ 12:35 pm
Glad you enjoyed it! I am always tweaking recipes to make them fit what I have on hand and what we like too.