Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

Lemons and blueberries are in season.  Just bought a huge box of fresh blueberries and I want to use them up before they turn bad.  Besides blueberry muffins and blueberry mousse cake, another way to enjoy these antioxidant loaded berries are with cheesecake bars.  I made a little section with no blueberries since hubby is not a big fan of this fruit :p

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
adapted from food network
(16 servings ~ 126 calories each)

Ingredients:
For the base:

Cooking spray, for greasing

2 tablespoons sugar

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

9 reduced fat graham crackers

1/2 stick margarine, melted

For the filling:
16 ounces fat free cream cheese, room temperature

2 eggs

2 lemons, zested and juiced

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup fresh blueberries

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

For the base:

1. Spray the bottom of a 9 by 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Then place parchment paper over the top, pressing down at the corners.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. In a food processor, process the sugar, cinnamon and graham crackers until you have the texture of bread crumbs. Add the melted margarine and pulse a couple of times to fully incorporate. Pour into the lined baking pan and gently pat down with the base of a glass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes until golden. When done set aside to cool.

 

For the filling:

1. Add cream cheese, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar to the food processor and mix until well combined. It should have a smooth consistency. Pour onto the cooled base and then cover with blueberries. They will sink slightly but should still be half exposed -- as the cake bakes they will sink a little more and break down.

 

 

2. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until the center only slightly jiggles. Remove from the oven and cool completely before refrigerating for at least 3 hours. Once set, remove from pan using the parchment lining and slice into 16 square bars.