My friend Melanie makes this delicious raspberry cream cheese pie – it is to die for! It’s not really a cheesecake, but it does have a delicious cream cheese layer. She brought it to our Christmas Eve party and I have been craving it ever since. So, I had her send me the recipe and I decided to try them as bars, instead of a pie. It turned out just as delicious!
Want to make your own Raspberry Cream Cheese Shortbread Bars?
Here’s what you’ll need:
(Recipe adapted from cooks.com)
Crust:
- 1/2 c. vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp. milk
- 1 1/2 c. flour
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. salt
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat the oil and milk together, and then add in the flour, sugar, and salt. Mix until it comes together to form a dough. Push into the bottom of a square (8″) baking dish. (If you line the pan with parchment paper and let it hang over the sides, it will make it easy to lift the bars out of the pan and cut them nicely). Pierce the crust with a fork, and then bake for 12-15 minutes until it starts to crisp. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
Filling:
- 1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
- 2/3 c. powdered sugar
- 4 tsp. lemon juice
Beat all items together and spread onto cooled crust.
Topping:
- 4 cups of frozen raspberries
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 3 tbsp corn starch
Place frozen raspberries in a medium saucepan and cook until they are all mashed into a puree. Add sugar and corn starch, and continuously stir until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Boil for about one minute, while stirring, and then remove. (My friend mentioned that sometimes she has to use a bit more corn starch to get her raspberries to thicken, but mine was fine with 3 tbsp – if you aren’t sure, you can always start with 2 or 3 and add more if you need it.) Let the raspberry mixture cool, and then spread over the cream cheese layer.
Let the whole dish sit for about 3 hours in the fridge. Or if you live in Canada, stick it out on your back deck for an hour – that’s what we do 🙂 Our deck functions as a very efficient cooler this time of the year!
Slice into bars, and try not to eat the whole thing in one sitting. It’ll be hard, but I know you can do it 🙂
Bonny says
I’ll use coconut oil – but other than that, OH YEAH!!
Karly says
These look absolutely delicious!
I’d love to have you link up for Tasty Tuesdays with me:
http://www.mrsthreeinthree.com/2014/01/tasty-tuesdays-43.html
Sarah says
Thanks so much Karly!! They really are delicious!
Bobbi says
Hi,
I really want to make these! They have my all time favorite two things in them. Raspberries and cream cheese! My question is this. Does it really make on an 8 x 8 pan? I would be tempted to double the crust to make a 9 x 13. I would eat the small pan in minutes.
Thanks!
Sarah says
I only make a 8×8 because I love the thick cream cheese layer, but you could definitely spread it out more if you made double the crust. Or, you could try making 1 and a half of the recipe to make a 9×13 too.