Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

For the crust:
Preheat oven to 300°F. In a medium-sized microwave safe bowl, melt the butter until liquid. Heat for 30 seconds at a time until melted. Add the graham cracker crumbs and the sugar and mix with a fork. Use a fork and press the crumb mixture evenly into the bottom of a 10″ spring form pan, keeping the mixture on the bottom and not spreading it up the sides. Bake for 10 minutes then remove pan to a cooling rack while you prepare the filling. Keep the oven on.

For the filling:
In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, and flour for several minutes until fluffy, scraping down the bowl with a spatula once or twice. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well between each one. Add sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla and beat on medium for about five more minutes, scraping down the bowl a couple of times throughout.

Pour filling into the crust and spread evenly with a spatula. or knife, all the way to the edges. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the center of the cheesecake is not jiggling. Remove it from the oven to a cooling rack and run a knife around the edges of the pan. The cheesecake will deflate as it cools. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate.

For the topping:
Combine berries and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir often, breaking down the berries as they heat up. Once the mixture begins to boil lightly, stir more frequently and cook for 8-10 minutes. The mixture should thicken slightly until it slowly runs off the spoon. Remove from the heat and pour into a small bowl and set aside to cool.

For the assembly:
Carefully remove the ring from the spring form pan and set aside. Gently slide the cheesecake off the bottom of the pan onto a cutting board, using a flat spatula or knife if needed. For shaped bars, use a cookie cutter (as deep as you can find) to press all the way through the cheesecake. You may need to use a knife or flat spatula to get the cheesecake out of the cookie cutter. If you don’t want to hassle with a cookie cutter, slice the cheesecake into rectangles, triangles, or wedges.

Carefully spread a layer of the raspberry topping over each bar, about a quarter of an inch thick.

Refrigerate for at least four hours or until ready to serve.

Adapted from The Pampered Chef.