These are a very simple dessert with a very straightforward sweet flavor – the perfect sort of thing to bring to a backyard cookout when you know everyone will be craving little bites of sweet finger food after gorging themselves on watermelon and lemonade and hamburgers with melty American cheese. Or you could eat them for breakfast out of the pan, like I did on probably too many mornings last week. They are quick to mix up, and you can probably even find all the ingredients besides the blackberries at a convenience store – I did, and in the middle of our move. Do me a favor and mix up a batch of these before berries became a luxury again.
Blackberry Cheesecake Bars
Makes one 9×9 inch tray.
- 1/2 stick salted butter, melted, plus extra butter for greasing
- 3 TBS sugar
- 1/8 tsp ground cinammon
- 9 full-size graham crackers (one half of a standard box)
- 16 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 c. brown sugar
- 1 1/2 c. fresh blackberries, washed
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 9×9 inch baking tray with the un-melted butter. In a food processor, pulse the sugar, cinnamon, and graham crackers until fully ground. Pour in the melted butter and pulse a few times to combine. Press the crumbs into the pan and make a layer of even thickness. Bake for 10 minutes, until golden brown, then remove from oven and let cool.
- In a stand mixer or in a large bowl, combine the room temperature cream cheese and eggs and beat until smooth. If mixing by hand, this may take some effort. Add the brown sugar and beat until smooth. Pour the mixture over the cooled crust, then scatter the blackberries on top. Bake for 35 minutes or until the center is only slightly jiggly, then remove from the oven and let cool completely, then cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before slicing. Serve chilled.
Dining and Cooking