Lemony Cheesecake Squares with Raspberry Swirl

Update April 2020: This is a great treat/ dessert for Spring and Easter! It uses mostly pantry staples and tastes super indulgent and special without having to make an entire cake.  Plus it stays well in the refrigerator for several days is you have extra.

If you don’t have fresh raspberries or raspberry preserves, you could substitute frozen ones or strawberries or even skip the swirl… the bars will still taste amazing!

Hope you love them!

Original post….

These Lemony Cheesecake Squares are amaaaaaazing!

Creamy & Luscious  Lemony Cheesecake + Graham Cracker Crust+ Raspberry Swirl.

The perfect balance of Sweet and Tart and SO YUMMY! We first made them last year for Valentine’s Day and they quickly became a fan favorite of ours and yours!

They also happen to be ridiculously easy to make.

They are made 10 real whole food ingredients: graham cracker, sugar, butter, cream cheese, eggs, milk, lemons  (both juice and zest), vanilla, raspberry preserves and raspberries.

We made our graham cracker crumbs using Schar Honeygrams which we like because they are certified gluten-free, non-gmo and so tasty. And we just pulse them in our Mini Cuisanart (Amazon affiliate link)

And the graham cracker base is mostly graham cracker crumbs plus a touch of melted butter.

While this bakes for just 8 minutes, we whip up the filling which, adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe, is a luscious and creamy blend of cream cheese, eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, a touch of milk and vanilla.

Pro tip: if you’re doing a lot of baking/ cooking, you may find yourself needing “zest” for recipes… I shared on Instagram stories that another basic kitchen tool we love is our Microplane (Amazon affiliate link) which makes zesting a cinch!

The creamy filling gets poured onto the hot graham cracker base.

Then onto the swirl!

The swirl is a blend of raspberry preserves, fresh raspberries and a touch of lemon juice so it’s not too sweet.  It’s mixed together and run through mesh strainer so it’s liquid-y and without seeds.

I was terrified of adding the swirl (I thought it would be difficult) but after doing this several times have decided it’s super easy and fun!

You literally drizzle the “liquid jam” in any swirl pattern you like, then using a tooth pick make swirls into the cheesecake filling.  That’s it! And suddenly a basic cheesecake bar is transformed into a festive and fun treat!

Bake, cool, then lift the parchment straight out of the pan and cut into bars.  It couldn’t be easier!

And they are creamy and luscious and just the right balance of sweet and tart.  A total crowd pleaser!

Hope you love them as much as we do!

For more Valentine’s Day desserts and treats, click here.

Scroll down for recipe and leave a comment if you try.