Blueberry Cheesecake White Chocolate Cookie Bars

When blueberry cheesecake and white chocolate almond cookies collide. If you need an excuse to indulge – consider these bars your permission slip! You’re welcome.

Cheesecake Layer

• 4oz (120 g) softened cream cheese
• ½ cup (125 mL) granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp (2 mL) almond extract
• ¼ tsp (1 mL) vanilla extract

Directions

1. Beat together cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla and almond extract until very well combined.
2. Set aside while making cookie dough.

Cookie Layer

• ½ cup (125 mL) softened butter
• ½ cup (125 mL) brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract
• 1 cup (250 mL) all purpose flour (gluten-free flour can be substituted)
• ½ tsp (2 mL) salt
• ½ tsp (2 mL) baking soda
• 1 cup (250 mL) white chocolate chips
• ⅓ cup (75 mL) slivered almonds, lightly toasted
• ½ cup (125 mL) quality blueberry jam (or jam flavour of choice)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F (180C).
2. Beat together cream cheese, sugar, egg, almond extract and vanilla until very well combined.
3. Add flour, salt, baking soda, chocolate chips and almonds and beat until well combined.
4. Line an 8X8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper on the bottom and up the sides (see parchment paper video clip below).
5. Press approximately half of the cookie dough into bottom of pan (*I find wetting my hands helps the dough not to stick to my fingers. Alternatively, you can chill the dough for about 30 minutes (before pressing into pan) so it’s not so soft).
6. Pour the prepared cheesecake layer on top of the cookie base.
7. Dollop jam over cheesecake layer, and swirl jam throughout cheesecake layer with the tip of a knife.
8. Drop the remaining cookie dough (in approx 2 tsp (10 mL) clumps) over jam/cheesecake layer (don’t worry if it does not look pretty).
9. Place in a preheated oven for about 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is golden and the center is still slightly jiggly.
10. Remove from oven and cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or overnight) before slicing. Cut into 16 bars.
11. Store in refrigerator for up to one week (or freeze for up to 3 months), but they won’t last that long!

Tips

~ you can use 9 X 9-inch baking pan if that’s what you have, just be sure to decrease baking time by about 5 minutes.
~ Use strawberry or raspberry jam instead of blueberry.

Charmaine Broughton is a Muskoka/Toronto-based cooking show host & guest expert and author of ‘Delicious & Doable ~ Recipes For Real and Everyday Life‘.

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