Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

Shortbread Crust:
1 cup butter
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Cheesecake:
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon (about 2 TBSP)
1 pint of fresh blueberries

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Preheat oven to 350

Line a 9x13 baking dish with foil, lightly grease foil. Mix butter, flour and powdered sugar together until crumbly. Press in the bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool.

Reduce oven to 325

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese and sour cream. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Add in the sugar and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla, salt, lemon zest and lemon juice. Fold in the blueberries gently with a spatula until evenly incorporated. Pour the mixture over the cooled crust and gently spread into an even layer. Bake for 35 minutes or until just set and the center no longer jiggles when the pan is tapped. Let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before slicing and serving.

I made these for the first time yesterday and, OH MY GOODNESS, they're DELICIOUS! I was looking for a recipe to use up a lemon and some blueberries I had and this was a definite winner. The original recipe (found here on Annie's Eats) called for a graham cracker crust but when I went to make it I discovered that I had no graham crackers and no graham cracker crumbs in the house. That's when I went to plan B and substituted a shortbread crust. It was so good I'll never make these any other way. I'm planning on making them again twice this week, for 2 different potlucks.

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

Streusel Topping:
4 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp flour
2 tsp vegetable oil

Muffins:
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1-2 cups blueberries
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Preheat oven to 350. Grease muffin tin or line with paper liners.

Prepare streusel topping by whisking sugar and flour together in a small bowl. Add oil and mix until fully incorporated and you have a sandy texture. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and milk. Add flour, baking powder and salt and stir just until combined. Stir in blueberries.

Divide batter between 12 muffin cups and sprinkle with streusel topping. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

I have been looking for a good blueberry muffin recipe and this is it! They were quite a hit in our house. Thanks again to Barabra Bakes for posting another yummy recipe!