Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
Makes:
one 8-inch (20 cm) square pan, 12 to 16 bars
Prep Time:
20 minutes, plus cooling and chilling
Cook Time:
85 minutes
Category:
Excerpted from Anna Cooks: 125+ Delicious & Achievable Recipes for Every Meal of the Day, by Anna Olson. Copyright © 2025 Olson Food Concepts Inc. Photography by Janis Nicolay. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited.
I have childhood memories of crumble-topped cheesecake bars, but I can’t recall who made them. (My mom? Grandma?) I just remember the crumble topping hiding the surprise sweet cheesecake filling in the middle. In this recipe, the shortbread crust doubles as the crumble topping and that memory-jogging creamy cheesecake filling is beautifully speckled with fresh blueberries.
NOTES: The bars will keep, covered, in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Don’t worry if you have soft, spreadable cream cheese rather than the firmer brick cream cheese called for in this recipe. I’ve found that both work equally well.
Ingredients
Base & Crumble:
- 2 cups (300 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp fine salt
- ¾ cup (175 g) unsalted butter, diced, at room temperature
- ½ cup (55 g) sliced almonds (optional)
Cheesecake Filling:
- 1¼ lb (570 g) brick cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp (25 g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp (18 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup (125 mL) full-fat sour cream
- 1½ cups (190 g) fresh blueberries
- Icing sugar, for dusting
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly grease an 8-inch (20 cm) square pan and line it with parchment paper so that the paper comes up the sides.
Step 2
For the base and crumble, in a large mixing bowl, stir the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add the butter and use a pastry blender to cut it in until a rough, crumbly texture.
Step 3
Press about two-thirds of the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Pierce the base with a fork. Stir the sliced almonds, if using, into the remaining crumble and set aside.
Step 4
Bake the base for about 25 minutes, until lightly browned at the edges. Cool the pan on a rack while preparing the cheesecake filling. Keep the oven on at 350°F (180°C).
Step 5
For the cheesecake filling, in a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a wooden sppon to soften. Add the granulated and brown sugars and beat well until the sugar dissolves into the cheese. Beat in the flour and vanilla. Switch to a whisk and whisk in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Whisk in the sour cream.
Step 6
Pour the batter over the cooled crust and sprinkle the blueberries overtop. Sprinkle the reserved crumble over the berries. Bake for 30 minutes at 350°F (180°C), then reduce the oven temperature to 325°F (160°C) and bake for an additional 30 minutes, until you see the cheesecake soufflé (puff up) a bit at the edges but the centre is still a little wobbly.
Step 7
Cool the bars in their pan fully to room temperature (this could take 90 minutes), then chill for at least 2 hours before dusting with icing sugar and slicing into bars to serve.
