Today I’m home sick. I consider it pretty lucky that this is the first time I’ve gotten ill since beginning nursing school. With the amount of germs I’m exposed to in the hospital, it’s down right amazing, actually. (I even survived my pediatric rotation without so much as a cold!) Worse than the fever and chills, I’ve lost my appetite. You know I’m not well when I’m not thinking about eating. But I won’t disgust you with the details, because you’re here to hear about food.

Since summer and blueberry season have both just arrived, this is the perfect recipe to share! It’s a quick and easy take on cheesecake. I was very happy with how it turned out. The lemon isn’t overpowering and the filling is soft and creamy. The fresh blueberries burst in your mouth with each bite. Even my under-the-weather self thinks these sound absolutely delicious right now. Too bad they disappeared soon after I made them!

Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars

INGREDIENTS

Crust:
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
9 graham crackers
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
16 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
2 eggs
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
powdered sugar, for dusting

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.

2. Grease the bottom of a 9×9-inch baking pan with butter. Then place parchment paper over the top, pressing down at the corners.

3. To make the crust, 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.

4. To make the filling, add the 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.

5. Bake in the oven for 30-35 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 rectangular bars. Dust with powdered sugar.

Fills a 9×9 pan, about 9 bars.

(Adapted from Food Network)