Monday, June 6, 2011

Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars


Adam just turned 26 a couple weeks ago. Which pains him, as it makes him as old as I am. He can't use his "you're older than I am" jokes for another 5 months. Poor baby. We celebrated with his traditional spaghetti dinner and a new cell phone (for him, obviously, and I am so jealous).

And that was that. Or so he thought.

In all reality, I had been planning a surprise birthday party for him at our place since the beginning of the month. As his birthday fell in the middle of the week, I planned the party for Saturday night. Not just any ol' surprise birthday party -- but one with a whiskey/bourbon/scotch tasting thrown into the mix.

What on earth do you server for dinner with that? How about some finger-lickin' Whiskey-glazed ribs, vegetarian Sloppy Joes, cheesy corn, shaved asparagus salad, and lots and lots of desserts. I mean, there are going to be some drunken munchies later. (Though really, those just happen anyways at 2 in the morning.) And what are Adam's favorite desserts? Blueberry cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory and brownies.

Ok, well, I was buying some baby back ribs to feed 8 people, so I wasn't about to run out and spend a small fortune on a cheesecake. So I made these instead. Which, I have to admit, are much easier to pick up and gobble down than cutting a slice of cheesecake and hunting down a fork. And I'm not sure we missed the cheesecake either as these were pretty darn tasty themselves. As for the brownies? Oh those are coming, don't you worry.


Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars


Adapted from: Kraft Foods

1/2 cup butter
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
2 eggs
2 (8 ounce) packages reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 pint fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13 pan with foil, set aside.

In a large bowl, microwave butter until melted, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Add cake mix and 1 egg. Beat with a mixture on medium until well combined. Transfer 2/3 of the dough to the prepared pan and press evenly onto the bottom of the pan forming a crust.

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and sugar. Add the remaining egg, zest, and juice, mixing well. Pour cream cheese mixture over crust. Top with blueberries. Flatten small pinches of the remaining dough between fingers, and lightly press into the cream cheese layer.

Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Transfer pan to a wire rack and cool completely. Lift the bars from the pan using the foil, then cut into 24 bars. Keep refrigerated.


Makes: 24 bars


I have to admit, I've been fairly impressed with Kraft's dessert recipes. I always get the skeptical look, and the "oh, you're serious? You got that recipe from there?" when people find out where I found the recipe. And yet they always comment on how tasty the dessert is. These were no exception.

Creamy, cakey, blueberry-y. Really. What more could you want in a bite-sized little bar of goodness? Besides no calories. Although, as we all know, if it's a birthday treat, those don't exist anyways.



Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
Calories 225Calories from fat 120
% Daily Value
Total Fat 13.3g21%
Saturated Fat 7.1g35%
Cholesterol 47mg16%
Sodium 230mg10%
Total Carbs 24.2g8%
Fiber 0.7g3%
Sugars 15.3g
Protein 3.0g
Vitamin A 8%Vitamin C 5%
Calcium 5%Iron 4%

24 comments:

  1. A booze tasting party, good call! Gorgeous cheesecake bars!!

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  2. colourful cake wonderful bars perfect dessert for snacking
    check out my event food palette series purple
    regards

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  3. I love lemon and blueberry together. I bet it was delicious and perfect with the whiskey, bourbon and scotch. :)

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  4. Blueberry and lemon are among my favorite flavor pairings. I have never seen these before and am glad you posted! Delicious.
    My husband is a only few months younger than me-I have to remind him of the exact amount of time. He likes to joke too, but I told him a few months is not even worth joking about!

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  5. I agree that Kraft sometimes has some really good and easy dessert recipes! Sounds like a fun surprise party with delicious food!

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  6. I used to get the Kraft recipes magazine and I found a lot of great recipes and inspiration in it!

    My boyfriend is a year younger than me so I get the "you're old" jokes all the time!

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  7. The menu for your party sounds so tempting! Great dessert choice, blueberries are so delicious this time of year!

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  8. Maybe it's because baking seems so maternal to me, but I had you pegged as much older. It's always cool to know of other young bloggers (22 myself). Thanks for the recipe, I love blueberries and cheesecake, and I think this one may be simple enough for me to try out.

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  9. Mmmm! Love the bars, love the staging (yellow ribbon esp), and love that you include the nutritional profile. I can't wait to make these!!

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  10. I have frozen blueberries coming out of my ears! I will have to use up a bunch and make some of these asap! Looks so yummy!


    Kitchen Comments

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  11. These are gorgeous and sound just fantastic! Anything cheesecake is music to my ears.

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  12. Happy birthday to Adam!! A Whisky/Bourbon/Scotch tasting? What a girl you are!! My husband would be in heaven! And with blueberry being one of his favorites I'm thinking he'd love these bars too. Well done!

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  13. I'm pretty sure there are many men out there quite envious of the amazing party you threw for your love; and blueberry lemon cheesecake bars as 2 am munchies? Um... yes please!

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  14. Simply beautiful! I love the blueberry/lemon combo

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  15. Oh man these seriously look so so good! I love the blueberry/lemon combination. This is going in my summer keeper pile for sure!

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  16. Oh these cheesecake bars sound really really good! I love the flavor combo ... so summery!

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  17. these are beautiful! happy birthday to your boyfriend. lemon and blueberry mmmm yum!

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  18. I'm 6 months older than my hubby and we made the same jokes about it :)
    I love these cheesecakes bars. I love them for the blueberries, for the lemon flavor and also because they are bars, hence less messy to eat :)

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  19. These bars look amazing! I love the combination of blueberries and lemon. I have to try out this recipe, it just looks too good. :)

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  20. I just made cheesecake bars today and am kicking myself for not thinking to put blueberries in them! These look awesome

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  21. these are fantastic!!
    i was looking for something simple yet tasty and I loved them!!

    I actually tried it with a little honey in substitute for some sugar and it worked out wonderfully~

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  22. These look gorgeous, Danielle!

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  23. My name is naija , These look gorgeous, Danielle!

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