Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

Easier than making a whole cheesecake, these Raspberry Cheesecake Bars are melt-in-your-mouth raspberry crumb bars with a rich and creamy cheesecake layer. Baked in an 8×8 square pan, they have a buttery cookie crust and a crumble topping.

With summer just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about all the fresh summer berries that’ll be in season.

And if you’re anything like me, you walk around the farmer’s market snatching up all the pints of berries including raspberries. Then you go home and wonder, what should I make?!

Enter these Raspberry Cheesecake Bars. They’re raspberry crumb bars with a melt-in-your-mouth dough base, a rich and creamy cheesecake layer, and a buttery crumb topping.

They’re similar to my peach cheesecake bars but with a tart and juicy raspberry filling (which is similar to making homemade cherry pie filling).

I find these raspberry cream cheese bars are always welcomed any time I’m invited to a picnic or potluck.

As much as I love my 6 inch cheesecake recipe, sometimes it isn’t ideal to share at a party.

I’ve learned from experience that take along treats are much easier to serve at celebrations, especially if the food is served on a table buffet style.

Not only do you not have to cut your own slice, raspberry cheesecake bars are small enough to squeeze onto an already-overflowing plate.

One of my tricks to making my raspberry cream cheese bars a little easier to make is the buttery cookie base and the crumb topping are made from the same dough.

That means you make the dough only once then reserve some for the top. That way the work is already done!

Ingredients For Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

To make these easy raspberry bars, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Water: Makes the syrup for the pie filling
• Lemon zest and juice: Adds brightness to each layer
• Sugar: Sweetens each layer
• Cornstarch: Thickens the fruit filling
• Raspberries: Can’t have raspberry bars without the raspberry! Fresh is preferred but you can use frozen berries after thawing and discarding excess liquid
• Flour: Binds the dough together
• Baking powder: Used for leavening in the dough
• Salt: Flavors the dough
• Butter: Gives the dough a melt-in-your-mouth texture and flavor
• Eggs: Used to bind the dough as well as make a rich cheesecake layer
• Cream cheese: Use blocks of full-fat cream cheese for best results. Using low fat or fat free will cause the cheesecake layer to be too watery
• Vanilla: Enhances the flavors of all the layers

Can you substitute raspberry jam for the filling?

I know the prep work and ingredient list may seem like a lot. If you need a little help, you can use raspberry jam without pectin instead of making raspberry pie filling, similar to making raspberry jam bars.

How To Make Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

Here’s how to make your raspberry cream cheese bars:

1. Cook the raspberry filling until it thickens then cool.
2. Whisk together sugar, flour, lemon zest, baking powder, and zest.
3. Cut in butter and egg using a pastry blender until a dough forms then reserve some for the crumb topping.
4. Pat dough into the bottom of your 8×8 pan.
5. Beat together cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
6. Add egg, lemon juice, and vanilla.
7. Transfer to the pan then top with raspberry filling and crumb topping.
8. Bake at 375F for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and edges pull away from the pan sides.

Refrigerate leftover cheesecake bars in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Can you make raspberry cheesecake bars ahead of time?

Yes! Because your raspberry crumb bars have multiple layers, you can make them up to 2 days ahead of time.

You can also make the raspberry filling up to 2 days before then refrigerate until ready to use.

Bring to room temperature before using because cold filling will increase the baking time, resulting in overbaking your bars.

More Raspberry Dessert Recipes

If you enjoyed your raspberry cream cheese squares, check out these other dessert recipes using raspberries:

• Lemon Raspberry Cake
• Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting
• Raspberry Crisp For Two
• Raspberry Hot Chocolate

First published June 20, 2014