Hi there, At The Picket Fence friends! It’s me, Claire, from A Little CLAIREification, and I am so excited to be here.
I recently had the great pleasure of meeting Heather and Vanessa in person at the SNAP conference a couple of months ago. They are just both so beautiful, inside and out, and I am thrilled to be part of the ATPF contributor team.
Here are a few quick juicy tidbits about me before we jump in:
I am a working Mama to three amazing boys and I love bringing my readers “bright ideas on a budget”. Many of those ideas involve food since I love to cook and bake so much. I am admittedly addicted to cheese (I am not ashamed) and I also hoard washi tape and Sharpie markers in every color known to man.
It’s all true.
Now let’s get to these delicious Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake Bars! First, I know some people get intimidated at the thought of making a cheesecake and honestly it really isn’t that hard at all. You got this! Depending on your cost for the cream cheese and raspberries, you might even have most of the ingredients on hand so it won’t break the bank either.
Believe me, the hardest part will be waiting for the finished cheesecake to chill so you can slice it into bars. 😉
Just follow the easy steps in the recipe below and your family and friends are going to love the tangy lemon and fresh raspberry combination. I am not sure which part is my favorite – I like a little crust in every bite, for sure.
I hope you enjoy the recipe and cannot wait to see you all again next month.
Thanks again Heather & Vanessa for including me as part of your amazing team!
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Ingredients
- For The Crust
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 12 graham crackers
- 3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted
- For The Raspberry Layer
- 1 1/2 cups raspberries plus 12 or so for garnish
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 cup water
- For The Filling
- 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 eggs
- 2 lemons, zested and juiced
- 1/2 cup sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325
- For the crust:
- Grease the bottom of a 9 by 9-inch baking pan with butter or cooking
- spray.
- Place a piece of parchment paper over the top, pressing down at the
- corners.
- In a food processor, process the sugar, cinnamon and graham crackers
- until you have the texture of bread crumbs.
- Add the melted butter 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.
- Bake in the oven for 12 minutes until golden brown.
- Set aside to cool.
- For the raspberry layer:
- While the crust is baking prepare
- the raspberry layer.
- In a small saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch.
- Add the raspberries and turn the burner onto low.
- Add the lemon juice and water and bring the mixture to a low
- boil.
- Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture
- reduces and thickens.
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool - the mixture will continue to
- thicken while cooling.
- Stir the raspberry mixture once it has cooled.
- Spread over the cooled crust.
- For the filling:
- In a medium bowl, add the cream cheese, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice
- and sugar and mix until well combined (alternately use a stand mixer or
- food processor).
- It should have a smooth consistency.
- Pour onto the cooled raspberry covered crust.
- Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or
- until the center only slightly jiggles.
- Remove from the oven and cool
- completely before refrigerating for at least 3 hours.
- Once chilled, remove from pan using the
- parchment lining and slice into 12 rectangular bars
My favorite cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory is their lemon raspberry…and this is a recipe that I have to try!…thanks for the great recipe of my favorite taste combination!!
This sounds so yummy! I’m going to pin this recipe, so I can find it again easily. Thanks for sharing!
Oh I love lemon anything! And raspberries too…yum. So pinning this!!!
XO Barbara
Let’s see…I’m a fan of cheesecake, raspberries, lemon, and Claire! So this works for me! Sounds delish, and pin-worthy!
A lovely recipe. Thanks so much.