New York seems to be having a seasonal identity crisis. We had a few days of spring-like temperatures, and then fell back into something resembling winter again. No matter the weather, this time of year always has me thinking of light, fruity desserts.
This recipe came about as I was contemplating how to make a lemon dessert without it being so lemon-y that I wouldn’t like it. I’m more of a citrus-in-small-doses fan. I decided to add blueberry to the mix to make things a bit more interesting.
Let’s start at the bottom of all of this with the crust. I opted for a bit of a nontraditional route by not using a graham cracker crust. Instead, this crust is a tasty combination of butter, brown sugar, and pecans. That is then topped off with blueberry preserves and a lemon cheesecake filling.
This is a great recipe for customizing to your flavor preferences by using a different flavor of preserves, or by omitting the lemon juice or using a different juice or extract. You can also go a bit more traditional with a graham cracker crust like this one. However you make it, this is one of the easiest ways to get to your cream cheese-y reward. It certainly satisfied my hankering for something befitting springtime.
Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars combine a nutty pecan crust, blueberry preserves, and a lemony cheesecake for an irresistible dessert.
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 & 1/2 cups (180g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup (100g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup (148g) finely chopped pecans, toasted (or other nut)
- pinch salt
For the filling:
- 1 cup blueberry preserves
- 24 ounces (680g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the crust:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9″x 13″x 2" baking pan. For easier removal of the bars, you can line the pan with parchment paper and grease the paper.
- Combine all the crust ingredients using a fork or your hands. Press evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
To make the filling:
- Spread the blueberry preserves evenly over the slightly cooled crust.
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.
- Pour the filling evenly over the crust and preserves. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until set.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about an hour. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting into bars.
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31 Comments on “Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars”
lemon in a cheesecake is one of the cleanest flavors; so refreshing on the tongue (and tummy)
Gosh. I’m such a sucker for cheesecake. And spring is the right time for lemon as far as I’m concerned… just YUM.
This cheese cake looks sooo delicious! I wish I could have a piece now. I like the fact that you used pecans with your crust. Great idea.
Looks great! I’m pinning it!!
delicious, you can never have too much lemon 🙂
Wow – this recipe looks amazing! I’m excited to give it a try. 😉
These looks delicious! I can’t wait to test this recipe out. You come up with the best tasty treats. Thanks!
Blueberry and lemon in a cheesecake sounds perfect
I just made these and they turned out tasty. i have 2 questions…first it cracked in the middle, how can i prevent that? and 2 when i cut it it looked much more messy than your pic. How do you get nice clean lines? thanks
Malissa, cracking is sadly a common occurrence with cheesecakes. Cracks or not, it’s still delicious. If it cracks while it’s baking, it may have been overmixed. To prevent it from cracking after it has baked, you can run a knife around the sides to loosen it a bit. The best way to get clean cuts is to use a very sharp knife that you (very carefully!) wipe off after each cut. Make smooth cuts, not a back-and-forth motion.
These mouthwatering Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars are fantastic! The unique taste of these bars really made our customers to ask for more and of course we present them in most simple but elegant way by serving them in small white aqua plates.
Wow!
What an awesome cheesecake. I was going to make the below version but I think I will attempt your version instead.
http://www.wascene.com/food-drink/new-york-cheesecake-recipe/
Many thanks,
Sara
I love cheesecake, this looks like an interesting and unique way to change things up.
Those look amazing! I can’t wait to make them!
I’m already counting down to blueberry picking season, and planning my recipes…I think these might just make the list! Can’t wait to try, thanks for sharing!
So I am attempting these in Peru, where blueberry preserves are hard to come by. How do you think strawberry preserves would do instead? Is the lemon no good with strawberry or would they compliment each other? Thoughts…
Hi, Megan. I think strawberry preserves would be delicious!
One word, YUM. I made this tonight and it was so good. I cut the recipe in half, used frozen blueberries because I didn’t have the preserves, and used a little freshly squeezed tangerine juice because I didn’t have lemons, and goodness this was good. This is the first time I’ve tried one of your recipes.
Hi! Just putting this togetherr and it seems that the butter amount is incorrect for the crust. I cup of butter made a very greasy mixture, so I added about another cup of flour to stiffen it up. I’m guessing it should really be 1/2 cup??
Hi, Mary. The amount of butter is correct. If you didn’t change anything about the recipe, then maybe look at how you measure your flour. I usually weigh mine, as scooping can give variable results.
Great recipe but I didn’t have pecans so used toasted ground almonds, increased the bluebrries to 1 1/2 cups and added some cinnamon. Didn’t have lemon so used o.j. and orange rind. None left!!
Meant to add – a versatile recipe. I like to tweak recipes. Never use only one when concocting stuff.
That sounds like a delicious variation, Jean!
One word: perfect! Not too sweet and very elegant. I’ve had my eye on this recipe for quite some time and have really wanted to bake something cheese-cakey before the summer is over. I made these last night. Scattered fresh blueberries on top of the cream cheese layer prior to baking. I like the fresh blueberry taste in the finished bar. Chilled overnight–cut like a dream this morning. The crust is a bit ‘oily’ to start (I added 5 min to the bake time) but bakes up nicely and holds the jam well. Super easy to cut and remove from the pan. I did add Limoncello, no surprise there, plus lemon zest. 🙂 Thanks for a great recipe, Jennifer!
Hello Jennifer this looks really good. Do you think a thick blueberry compot would work as wellÂ
as the preserves?
Hi, Sarah. I think it might work if it’s fairly thick.
Hi Jennifer,
I’d like to put aluminum foil or parchment paper underneath the bars so I can lift them out. Â Is this doable, do you know? It seems like anytime I want to make a dessert I turn to your blog!
Thanks.
Hi, Teresa! You can line the pan if you like. I have better results using parchment paper, but feel free to use aluminum foil if you prefer. Enjoy!
Thanks Jennifer!
I saw this recipe on line and wanted to make it. However, My husband is not a fan of lemon, would it de tract from the flavor of my sour cherry preserves? Do you have any other recipes to use sour cherry preserves with? Thank you so much. Found your site on line.
Hi, Debbie. You can leave out the lemon. I have several recipes that use preserves, and most would work with any flavor. Click here to see all of those recipes.