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Blackberry Cheesecake Bars With Shortbread Crust – buttery crust, topped with luscious cheesecake layer and sweet blackberry sauce swirled into it. Quick to make, tastes delicious and has great flavor. One slice from these is not enough!
I finally got to make some cheesecake again! It is one of my all time favorite desserts, but for some reason I don’t make it that often!
I was craving cheesecake last week and since I did not have time to make some I asked my husband to get me some from the store. While I’ve had some good tasting store bought cheesecakes, this one wasn’t one of them. Anyway, this meant I had to bake a cheesecake asap!
With some fresh blackberries on my kitchen counter, I decided to make a blackberry swirl cheesecake bars.
Why make cheesecake bars?
Cheesecake bars are made the same way as cheesecake and baked in a square or rectangular baking dish.
They bake even easier than cheesecake and made a delicious cheesecake dessert.
I love the taste of homemade shortbread crust (not what I dislike graham cracker crust) and wanted to combine a thicker crust with a layer of cheesecake.
Shortbread crust for cheesecake
Basides Oreo cookies or graham crackers, you can also made a different cheesecake crust – shortbread crust.
It is buttery and soft, thick and tastes amazing.
This crust is almost as thick as the cheesecake layer, so if this is something you don’t like, simply reduce the ingredients and you’ll end up with a thinner base for your cheesecake. (Baking time should be reduced to around 10-12 minutes, as well.)
You can enjoy these cheesecake bars at room temperature or chilled.
How to cut cheesecake bars?
I cut them into 3×3 inch squares, but if cut into 1×1 inch squares, they’ll make an awesome party dessert.
Clean the knife after each cut and you’ll be able to achieve perfectly cut cheesecake bars.
If you don’t feel like making the blackberry syrup and the swirl, just bake cheesecake and top with fruit preserves.
A fun fact – I’ve only had a bar a day since I made these! Not that they are not delicious, but I need to try and keep my body in shape for spring and summer !
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BLACKBERRY CHEESECAKE BARS WITH SHORTBREAD CRUST
Ingredients
For the blackberry sauce:
- 6 oz fresh blackberries
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 drops vanilla extract
For the Shortbread Crust:
- 3/4 cup (1 and 1/2 sticks) softened butter
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
For the cheesecake layer:
- 16 oz softened creme cheese
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
Instructions
For the blackberry sauce:
- In a sauce pan combine blackberries, sugar and water and cook for 10 minutes. Using a fork mash blackberries. Strain sauce, using a fine mesh strainer. Set a side.
For the crust:
- Preheat oven to 350 F (177 C). In the bowl of a stand mixer cream butter for 2 minutes. Add sugar and mix until combined. Add in flour and salt and mix until medium crumbs are formed.
- Line a 9×9 inch baking dish with aluminum foil. Transfer crust mixture and with a spatula or your fingers, press onto the bottom of baking dish. Make sure the layer is even.
- Bake for 20 minutes, until edges are golden.
For the cheesecake layer:
- In a bowl whisk cream cheese until smooth. Add in sugar, eggs and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Pour mixture over the baked shortbread crust. Smooth the top with a spatula.
- To make the swirl – drizzle some sauce on top of cheesecake layer and using a toothpick swirl it into the batter.
- Bake cheesecake for 35-40 minutes, until cheesecake is slightly puffed. Cool completely.
- Cut into nine 3×3 in squares. Store in the fridge in air tight container for up to 5 days.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Amazingly delicious! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
I made these tonight and oh my are they good! They are beyond delicious!
So glad they turned out nice 🙂
These are really good! Love the shortbread crust!
This cheesecake is sooo good! I halved the crust repicpe and baked it in a 9.7 inch round springform pan and it turned out amazing!
Hi Casey, so glad this recipe worked for you!
Hi there! Can I use the same measurements to divide the batter into a 12 muffin tin? Would the baking directions be different?
Yes, you can do so. You may need to bake them for shorter time, since smaller cheesecakes bake faster