With the blueberry season quickly coming to an end I had the strong urge to baking with blueberries one last time. As soon as I saw these Blueberry Cream Cheese Bars on Jen’s blog I knew that they would be a hit.
I love baking with oatmeal because I love the texture that it brings to baked goods and with blueberries and cheesecake, how can you go wrong? The Blueberry Cream Cheese Bars flavors all come together to create one of the best desserts that I’ve had in a long, long time.
The flavors are all just so perfect together with the chewy oatmeal base, the smooth and sweet cheesecake middle, and the slightly tart and juicy blueberry layer. I had a hard time sharing these… 😉
We like these cold, straight from the fridge, each time but they would probably be great served at room temperature, too.
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 1/2 cups oats
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
For the blueberry layer:
- 1 2/3 cup blueberries
- 3 tbsp. sugar
- 2 tsp. cornstarch
- 2-3 tsp. lemon juice
For the cheesecake layer:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- Pinch salt
Directions
- Heat oven to 350° F (180C) and line a square baking pan (I use an 8-inch) with parchment paper (or non-stick foil).
- For the crust: In a large bowl mix flour, oats, salt, brown sugar, baking soda, and cinnamon. Stir in the melted butter until combined. The mixture should be very crumbly. Keep 1/2 cup crumb mixture for topping.
- Press the remaining mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 12 minutes.
- In a small saucepan carefully stir together blueberries, sugar, and cornstarch, and then add in lemon juice, and cook for about 7 min at medium heat, stirring often, until mixture begins to thicken. Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool slightly before pouring over baked crust.
- In a bowl of the electric mixer beat the cream cheese until smooth and then add sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat for another 2 minutes until combined. Add in the egg and mix until combined. Pour cheesecake filling over the blueberry filling.
- Top the blueberry filling with the reserved crumb mixture.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until the top begins to brown and the filling is bubbly. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let it cool completely. When bars reach room temperature chill for an hour in the refrigerator before cutting. Store in refrigerator.
as seen on Beantown Baker, originally from Baking and the Boys and Cookie Madness