Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

With Crumble Top

by LEON BOUTEILLER

When invited to a party, I always ask what I can bring. Sometimes it’s as easy as toting a bottle of wine. But, more often, I’m asked to bring a dessert. I’m happy to oblige. I enjoy baking and most often the desserts are baked or at least partially. There are questions to consider before showing up. Some considerations are - how many guests, other desserts, casual or formal, the general age of the group, is refrigeration available, served inside or on the deck? Other influences might be - plated or served buffet style, allergies and dietary restrictions. Fortunately one may be familiar with the guest list and the hosts will let you know any restrictions like peanuts. You don’t want to contribute anything with which the host must fuss. He/She already has enough to do.

Recently I was asked to supply a dessert for a familiar group. I knew the answers to these questions. The hard part was to decide what to bring. I enjoy something familiar with a twist, not only delicious but interesting. Fruit crumble bars are a good for a party for they travel well. They can be plated or hand held, everyone enjoys them and they are fairly simple to make.

Blueberries are still easy to find in the markets so how to make it different? I decided to combine the basic crumble bar with a thin layer of cheesecake and retain the crumble top. I was concerned that the crust would be sturdy since many fruit bar recipes have a graham cracker crust. Shortbread crusts are more substantial and buttery like those under a lemon bar. Here’s a twist for the crust. I like to use ginger snaps in place of graham crackers for a cheesecake but wanted a shortbread crust. The solution? Grind some ginger snaps into a fine meal and replace some of the flour in the shortbread crust and crumble top. Here is my adaptation of a different kind of blueberry bar.

BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE BARS with CRUMBLE TOP

For the ginger snap meal purchase a 10 ounce box of ginger snaps, any brand you prefer, and grind in a food processor for a minute or two until it looks like a fine meal. Something like cornmeal. There will be some left over that can be used in any pie or baked fruit dessert with a crumble top.

Ingredients for the crust

  • ½ pound unsalted butter (2 sticks) at room temperature

  • ⅓ cup natural sugar

  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

  • ¾ cup ginger snap meal

  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Method for the crust

  • Have on hand a 9 x 13 pan with at least 1 inch sides

  • Preheat oven to 350F degrees

  • In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium until uniform and lightly fluffed

  • In a separate bowl, blend the ginger snap meal with the all-purpose flour and salt

  • With the mixer on low, blend the flour mixture into the butter mixture until well blended. Scrape the bowl down once

  • Dump the dough onto the baking pan, and with floured hands, press the dough evenly into the pan and up the sides about a 1/2 inch

  • Refrigerate the dough for 20 to 30 minutes until well chilled

  • Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly golden in color. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature

Ingredients for the cheese filling

  • 1 ½ eight ounce packages of full fat cream cheese

  • 1 whole egg plus 1 egg yolk

  • ¼ cup sugar

  • 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method for the cheese filling

  • Cream the ingredients together until uniform. Set aside

Ingredients for the blueberry filling

  • 2 cups fresh blueberries, washed and checked for stems

  • ⅓ cup blueberry jam

  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest

  • 2 tablespoons natural sugar

  • 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch

Method for the blueberry filling

  • Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix together, crushing about half of the berries on the side of the bowl. Set aside

Ingredients for the crumble

  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour

  • ⅓ cup ginger snap meal

  • 6 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter

  • ¼ cup natural sugar

  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • ⅛ teaspoon salt

Method

  • Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix with your hands or a pastry blender until the butter is evenly distributed and the crumble holds together when pressed between your fingers

Assembly for the bars

  • Pour the cheese mixture over the baked shell and spread evenly to the sides

  • Spoon dollops of the blueberry mixture evenly over the cheesecake layer

  • Distribute the crumble evenly over the blueberry mixture

  • Bake in the preheated oven at 350F degrees for 30 to 35 minutes

  • Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours

At this point you can cut the bars in the pan or slide the whole tart onto a cutting board to facilitate easy even cuts. Serve chilled or at room temperature. If there are any leftovers, which I doubt, they should be refrigerated until needed.

I hope you take the time to make this recipe. It is much easier to make than it reads and for anyone with a little baking experience, it will be a snap!

Enjoy!

Leon G Bouteiller was born and raised in Northwest Connecticut. He has held several jobs as chef in the community. He is now retired and living in Cornwall with his wife Patrice and a love of the outdoors. They are joined by their pets, a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog named Banjo and two rescue cats called Ricky and Lucy.

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