Saturday, July 12, 2008

Blueberry Cheesecake Bars


I recently ended up with more blueberries than I knew what to do with and a potluck to go to. I went on a quest to find a delicious, portable dessert that was somewhat not hugely fattening. I found this recipe on the Kraft web site. They were a little melty, but I don't think I cooked them quite long enough. The ones I kept in the fridge turned out perfect even though they weren't quite firm at room temperature. As for the not hugely fattening part, that didn't work out so good. At 190 calories and 11g of fat per serving (5 points), they are certainly not good for you. However, if you use Nefchatel cheese instead, you save 10 calories and 3g of fat. Grandad ate 4 of them--he's trying to gain weight--and my sister commanded me to post the recipe. Meanwhile, I still have more blueberries than I know what to do with. Any suggestions? (I already have plenty in the freezer).

Ingredients

6 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 cups HONEY MAID Graham Cracker Crumbs
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 jar (10 oz.) blueberry jam or preserves*
1 cup blueberries

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Mix butter and graham crumbs in 13x9-inch baking pan. Press firmly onto bottom of pan. Refrigerate until ready to use.

BEAT cream cheese in large bowl with electric mixer on medium until creamy. Add sugar, eggs and vanilla; beat until well blended. Set aside. Stir jam in jar until softened; spread evenly onto crust. Sprinkle with blueberries; top evenly with the cream cheese mixture.

BAKE 30 min. or until slightly puffed. Cool completely in pan. Cut into 24 bars to serve. Store any leftover bars in tightly covered container in refrigerator up to 3 days.

* I made my own spread instead of buying jam. I cooked 2 cups of blueberries and 1/2 cup sugar over medium-high heat until they were nice and juicy (mash them up a little with a potato masher if you like). Then I mixed about a tablespoon of cornstarch in about 2 tablespoons of cold water. I added it to the bubbling blueberries until it was nice and thick, then spread it on the crust. I completed this step right after making the crust and kept it in the fridge until the topping was ready.

2 comments:

Aly sun said...

These were SOOOOOOO good. I am not ashamed to admit I ate 4. Oh, they were delicious. I need to make these very, very soon, gain 5 pounds and then regret it with a blissful blueberry stained smile on my face.

Thanks for posting the recipe.

Aly sun said...

Just made the cream cheese part with lemon zest and a bit of lemon juice. Even better.