Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars

I pulled this recipe from Chatelaine for Trav’s birthday a few weeks ago.  It didn’t quite go as well as I’d hoped, so the version I’m going to give to you is what I WOULD have done, had I known that this was how things were going to go down.  In my version, the crust (I thought) was too thick, and they made me bake it for too long, so it burned.  Also, the cheesecake layer was too thin, there were too many blueberries, and the whole thing was ready almost 15 minutes earlier than it was supposed to be, so if I hadn’t been checking, it would have charred.  So here we go, the right way (I think).

Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a 9″ x 13″ baking dish with parchment paper.  You want it to overhang on the sides so you can use them as handles later.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together 3/4 cup softened butter with 1/2 cup granulated sugar until it’s all creamy.  Add in 1 1/2 cups flour, mixing slowly, and chuck in as well about 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest.

Press this lovely shortbread dough into the base of the prepared pan, and bake until the edges are just starting to darken, about 15-20 minutes (keep an eye on it, though).

In a small saucepan, dump 3/4 cup frozen blueberries (or 1 cup fresh blueberries), together with 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.  Cook over medium, stirring occasionally,  until the berries are just starting to go soft and juicy and the sugar is dissolved, about 8 minutes.  You don’t want this to start to bubble.  Set that aside to cool.

I may have put a bit more of myself than usual into this recipe when I was grating the zest. Literally. Don’t worry, that’s not all blood. Some of it is blueberry juice.

Using an electric mixer again, beat together 3 250g blocks of softened cream cheese with 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons vanilla, and 3 eggs, until it’s all combined and smooth.

Spill the cream cheese mixture over top the shortbread and spread it until it covers everything.

Take your cooled blueberries and dollop them all over the top.  Ignore the resemblance to a crime scene.

Use the edge of a knife to draw swirls through the blueberries, so they’re all, you know, swirly.

Bake in the centre of the oven until the filling is set, about 40 minutes (this was the original time provided, but I had less cream cheese filling so I hope it works out this time).

Transfer to a rack to cool for at least an hour, then chill for at least 2 hours before slicing up and serving.

Please note that I haven’t tested this exact recipe — it’s my best guess to compensate for what I saw was lacking in the original.  I will probably try it again at some point but it might not make it into the blog.  If you try it please let me know how it works out!