Raspberry Cheesecake Squares

Cheesecake and sugar cookies.  A couple of our favorite desserts

Let’s combine them into tasty little squares topped with sweet, raspberry jam!

Let’s start by making a simple sugar cookie recipe that we’re going to use as the crust for the cheesecake bars

You’ll need 2 sticks of room temperature butter and 1/2 cup of white sugar

Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixer until they are fluffy.  This will take about 2 minutes

Next we’ll need one egg and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

I like to make my own vanilla.  It’s inexpensive to make and SO much better than imitation vanilla

Show me how to make Homemade Vanilla Extract

Beat the egg into the butter-sugar mixture until well combined and add in the vanilla

Let’s measure out the dry ingredients; 2 1/2 cups of flour and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda

I used salted butter because it’s what I had in the fridge, but if you use unsalted butter, add in a 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the flour

Mix until combined, but do not over do it.  We don’t want tough cookie dough

Scrape out of the mixing bowl onto a sheet of plastic wrap

Shape into a disk and set aside while we work on the next part of this tasty dessert

We’ll be using three 8 ounce bars of room temperature cream cheese, 1/2 cup of sugar, 3 eggs and 1/2 teaspoon of extract.  I’m using almond extract because we love the flavor of almond and raspberry together, but vanilla will work just as well

This is also a good time to preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

Combine the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a mixer and blend on medium speed until combined

Add in the eggs, one at a time, and beat on low speed just until combined.  Add in the extract and beat a few more times

Let’s work on the crust.  Press the sugar cookie dough that we made earlier into a 13 x 9 pan, as evenly as possible

Pour the batter over the dough and spread out

One last step.  Measure out 1/2 cup of seedless raspberry jam into a plastic baggie  Snip off the end so you can use it as a piping bag

Squeeze the jam over the batter in evenly spaced, lengthwise lines

Easier said than done, lol.  As evenly spaced as you can get, unless you’re like my husband who would have used a ruler and a level  

Use a butter knife to pull the jam in alternating lines

Don’t worry if it’s a little messy looking at this point.  The jam will melt in the oven and follow the lines you’ve made with the knife

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a cake tester or knife comes out clean

Cool on a wire rack then chill for at least 1 1/2 – 2 hours before serving

 

Enjoy!

Tools used to make this recipe

Royal Classique 10 Piece Stainless Steel Measuring Cups and Spoons Set with Silicone Handles

Mini Prep Glass Bowl

KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Qt. Stand Mixer

Pyrex Glass Oblong Baking Dish 9 inch x 13 Inch

Silicone Flexible Rubber Baking Spatula

Farberware Pie Server

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