12 Days of Christmas Cookies: Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

by Amy Johnson, Managing Editor, HockeyPub.com

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Not many desserts are as rich and decadent as cheesecake.  It’s a true indulgence.  But what if you could make a “portable” version of cheesecake to satisfy those cravings?  Cheesecake in cookie form!  I used these as my entry in a cookie exchange today and they were VERY popular – and this recipe makes a lot of them!

Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
Recipe courtesy of “Woman’s Day”  Christmas Cookie Jar

Prep time: 25 minutes (plus 4 hours of chilling time)
Makes about 36 bars

Ingredients:
Crust
18 shortbread cookies (or half a box of Nilla Wafers, which is what I used)
3 tbsp butter, softened

1 jar (12 oz) seedless red raspberry jam

Filling
2 bricks (8 oz each) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tbsp freshly grated lemon peel

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.  Pulse cookies in a food processor into fine crumbs.  Add butter, pulse until blended.

2. Scrape crumb mixture into a foil-lined 13×9 baking pan which has been coated with nonstick cooking spray.  Press crumbs evenly over the bottom of the pan.  Bake 10 to 13 minutes until lightly browned.  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

3. Reserve 2 tbsp of jam in a separate bowl.  Spread remainder of jar over crust, stopping about 3/4 inch from the edge.

4. Beat cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on high speed until smooth.  On medium speed, beat in eggs and lemon peel until blended.

5. Spoon filling around edges of pan over jam, then pour the rest into the middle, smoothing with a spatula.

6. Heat remaining 2 tbsp jam and drizzle over the filling.

7. Bake 35 to 40 minutes until set around the edges but still jiggly in center.  Cool in pan on a wire rack.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight before lifting foil out of the pan to cut into bars on a cutting board.  Enjoy!

Be sure to check back tomorrow for our next holiday cookie recipe – Eggnog Cookies!  And if you missed any previous recipes in our series, be sure to check them out below:

Day 1 – Golden Chocolate Chunk Nutty Bars
Day 2 – Inception Brownies
Day 3 – Traditional Butter Cookies
Day 4 – Devil’s Food Peanut Butter Chip Cookies
Day 5 – Sriracha Peanut Butter Cookies
Day 6 – Easy Jam-Filled Cookies

Photo credit: Amy Johnson

Tags: cheesecake, christmas, cookies, dessert, featured, raspberry, shortbread