Blueberry Streusel Cheesecake Bars
Smooth vanilla cheesecake topped with fresh, juicy blueberries and a crisp topping. These blueberry streusel cheesecake bars are just about impossible to quit eating!
Make the crust
Very basic and easy, the graham cracker crust is the perfect foundation for the other flavors in these cheesecake bars. A touch of salted butter and a good measurement of toasty brown sugar is all the crumbs need to pull together.
Fill ‘er up
Like the crust, the filling is simple and delicious. Use full fat cream cheese at cool room temperature for the best results. If it’s too warm, the filling might end up being a bit soupy and the blueberries would sink down. Not the end of the world, but not the prettiest.
If you have one, just stick an instant read thermometer into the center of the cream cheese brick. The ideal temp you want is around 67-70 degrees. The eggs and sour cream should also be around this temperature to encourage even mixing in the least amount of time possible. With cheesecake, longer mixing times mean more opportunity for air to be introduced into the batter, raising the risk for cracks.
You can also avoid extra air by mixing the filling in a food processor rather than a stand mixer. It comes together a lot quicker that way, too.
Toppings
After adding the filling to the crust, sprinkle on the blueberries and streusel topping. After the bars have baked, allow them to come to room temperature before refrigerating overnight.
I know it’s tempting to skimp out on the refrigerating time, but trust me. These blueberry streusel cheesecake bars are SO WORTH THE WAIT. The blueberries get nice and jammy from baking, the almonds in the streusel are crunchy and toasty – all piled up onto that lovely vanilla cheesecake. Crunchy, creamy, sweet, tart…these bars are a sensory delight!!
And if you have leftover blueberries, this yummy dessert topping is a fantastic way to use them up!
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Blueberry Streusel Cheesecake Bars
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Chilling Time: 8 hours
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 9 hours + 15 minutes
- Yield: 15 bars 1x
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Cheesecake bars topped with fresh, juicy blueberries and a crisp streusel topping.
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 10 sheets of honey graham crackers
- 1/4 cup melted butter, salted
- 2 TB brown sugar
For the cheesecake filling:
- 16 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup crème fraiche or sour cream, room temperature
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups fresh blueberries
For the streusel topping:
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 4 TB cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
Instructions
- Make the crust. Preheat the oven to 325F, line a 9 x 9 square pan with parchment paper and set aside. Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until they are very finely ground. Alternatively, you can just crush them in a zip top bag with a rolling pin. If you do use a food processor, wipe down the insides of the bowl when you’re done, since you’ll be using the food processor to make the filling.
- Combine the crumbs, melted salted butter and brown sugar in a small bowl and mix well until combined. Evenly press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking pan and bake for 10 minutes.
- After you remove the crust from the oven, allow to cool completely. Leave the oven at 325 degrees while you make the filling.
- Make the filling. Add the cream cheese, sugar, sour cream and salt to the food processor bowl and pulse 3-4 times until smooth. Add one egg at a time and pulse to blend after each one. Add the vanilla and pulse a few more times until blended. Spread the filling onto the cooled crust and evenly sprinkle the blueberries on top.
- Make the streusel topping and bake the bars. Whisk the flour and brown sugar together in a small bowl, and use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in the oats and almonds until combined, and sprinkle evenly over the blueberries.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the middle of the bars only jiggle a little bit. Allow to cool to room temperature before refrigerating overnight.
- These bars can be refrigerated for up to a week.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 398
- Sugar: 19.2 g
- Sodium: 294.5 mg
- Fat: 24.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 10.9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 39.4 g
- Fiber: 2.8 g
- Protein: 6.3 g
- Cholesterol: 74.1 mg
