Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

For the cookie crust:

Cream together the butter with the two sugars. Add in the lemon zest, egg, and vanilla. Mix to combine.

Add in the salt and flour. Mix to form a dough.

Place dough in the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up. After it has chilled, form into a tart pan (9×13 works great as well) and bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown around the edges.

Let cool completely.

For the cream cheese layer:

In a mixer, whip together the cream cheese, almond extract and sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Set aside.

Whip the heavy cream until it becomes whipped cream. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Chill.

For the raspberry sauce:

Combine the water, the raspberries and the sugar into a small pot and set to medium high heat.

Mix together the corn starch with an equal amount of cold water. When the raspberry mixture begins to boil, add in the cornstarch slurry and let boil for a minute or so until thickened. Remove from heat and place in the fridge until cooled completely.

To assemble:

Pour cream cheese mixture over the cookie crust and let set in the fridge for at least an hour. Serve with raspberry sauce spooned over the top.