There are some treats that just seem to be timeless and it doesn’t matter when we enjoy them, they are just going to be the perfect choice. For many of us, cheesecake seems to be near the top of that list and for a very good reason, you can do so many different things with it. I mean, what flavor doesn’t work with cheesecake?
Although you could take cheesecake in almost any direction you wanted it to go, there are going to be some recipes that just stand out above the rest. That is the case with this recipe. After all, what could be better than raspberry, lemonade cheesecake bars? I’m salivating just thinking about them.
Ingredients:
For the crust:
1 pouch sugar cookie mix
½ cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
For the filling:
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
2 eggs
⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup fresh raspberries
Directions:
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray bottom only of 9×13 pan with cooking spray.
In large bowl, mix the crust ingredients with spoon until soft dough forms. Press dough in bottom of pan.
Bake 15 minutes, then remove from oven to cooling rack. Cool 10 minutes.
In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon peel with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, scraping down side of bowl frequently. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until just blended. Beat in lemon juice. Reserve 1/4 cup filling; set aside. Spread remaining filling evenly over cooled crust.
In small bowl, mash raspberries with fork. Push mixture through small strainer with back of spoon to make 1/4 cup raspberry puree. Stir puree into reserved filling. Drop tablespoonfuls of raspberry mixture on cream cheese layer. With knife, carefully swirl into top of cream cheese layer.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until filling is set. Cool 30 minutes on cooling rack. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until cooled completely. Cut in 6 rows by 4 rows.