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This next recipe I found on the food network as well (can you tell that I LOVE the food network!)  Anyway, I actually watched Tyler Florence make these Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars the same day as I was watching about the pretzels (my last kitchen conundrum).  But they both looked so delicious I had to try them both.

I ran into a couple of problems, which is nothing new to me.  I rarely make anything where I don’t run into problems, but it’s usually my fault.  This time I found a box of graham cracker crumbs in the pantry!  Who knew they made already crushed up graham crackers?!?!  (Talk about getting lazy!)  This was actually a really handy thing, however, it made making the crust a bit difficult.  You see, the box had it’s own directions on how to make a graham cracker crust…. while Tyler Florence had another.  Tyler’s recipe actually calls for 9 graham crackers crushed.  Well, I had to google search how many cups equaled 9 crushed graham crackers.  When I mixed all the ingredients together for the crust, it didn’t seem quite the right consistency.  I should have just followed the Keebler’s recipe for graham cracker crust on the box… oh well.

I made it past the crust issue and started in on making the filling.  I got my mixer out and put in the cream cheese, eggs, and lemon zest.  What made this recipe sound so good to me, what the fact that it called for real lemon zest and juice.  When it came to the lemon juice, Tyler Florence said to filter the juice through your fingers.  That way all the seeds and lemon chunks won’t get in the cheesecake.  Here’s a couple of photos of me filtering out the seeds…

Look how lovely my hair looks… NOT!  I seriously had no idea my hair looked that scary.  Why don’t people tell me these things!

I did run across another problem… I was too excited to start baking, that I didn’t quite let the cream cheese warm up to room temperature.  This caused the batter to be a bit lumpy.  I was kinda sad about that, but it was my fault, and what could I really do at this point.

I finished mixing the batter and poured it into the pan (which Tyler recommends lining with parchment paper!  Very helpful for these!)  Then I sprinkled the blueberries on top – and for this I had some frozen ones that I de-frosted.  Probably not the ideal thing to do, but I was able to finish up the bag and rid something from the freezer.  YES!  (That’s why they look a little wrinkly.)

Here’s the final product coming out of the oven.  The only bad thing about this recipe is, you have to let the cheesecake bars cool when you take them out of the oven, and then put them in the fridge for at least 3 hours.  Talk about torture!  You have to wait forever just to eat them!  UGH.  But for me it was worth it.  I loved them!  However, I will admit, a few of my other family members thought they were just “ok”.  I think the lemon flavoring was quite strong for them… so beware if you decide to make these.  Make sure you like lemon!

Here’s the recipe for the Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

For the base:

• Butter, for greasing
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 9 graham crackers
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

• 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 2 lemons, zested and juiced
• About 1/2 cup sugar, eyeball it
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
• Powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

For the base:

Grease the bottom of a 9 by 9-inch baking pan with butter. Then place parchment paper over the top, pressing down at the corners. In a food processor, process the sugar, cinnamon and graham crackers until you have the texture of bread crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse a couple of times to fully incorporate. Pour into the lined baking pan and gently pat down with the base of a glass. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes until golden. When done set aside to cool.

For the filling:

Add cream cheese, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar to the food processor and mix until well combined. It should have a smooth consistency. Pour onto the cooled base and then cover with blueberries. They will sink slightly but should still be half exposed — as the cake bakes they will sink a little more and break down.

Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until the center only slightly jiggles. Remove from the oven and cool completely before refrigerating for at least 3 hours. Once set, remove from pan using the parchment lining and slice into 10 rectangular bars. Dust with powdered sugar.

By:  Andre’a Feldhaus – food network star wanna-be