The Big Giant Food Basket: July 7, 2013

You know those little paperback recipe books you always see at the checkout line of the supermarket? Well I am a sucker for them, especially if I have to wait any time for my order to be rung through.

So yesterday I hit the food store after dropping Michael off at summer rec and yes...I just had to pick one of those little books up...it had been awhile since I broke down and bought one anyway. The book I grabbed for a mere $4.99 was Betty Crocker's ...cobbler pies & more. Oooh and did I have fun flipping though those pages. The first recipe I decided to make was this fabulous looking Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Squares. The recipe was actually from a blog called Inspired Taste.

This is a very simple recipe to execute and the taste of these little treats is fantastic.

Ingredients:

For the Crust

9 graham cracker rectangles

2 T sugar

2 T lemon peel

1/4 butter melted

For the Filling

2 8 oz packages of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 T lemon peel

juice from one lemon

1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries

For the Topping

1 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

6 T unsalted butter, cold

Heat oven to 325 degrees F and spray an 8 or 9 inch square baking with cooking spray.

In blender or food processor pulse together the cracker, sugar and lemon peel until crumbs form. Add the melted butter and blend until it is mixed in well. Press this mixture into the bottom of your pan and bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then let cool for about 10 more minutes.

Clean out your blender or food processor and add the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, the eggs, 2 tablespoon of the lemon juice and the lemon peel. Blend until the filling is nice and smooth then pour over the cooled crust and top with the blueberries.

Finally, in a medium bowl, mix together the brown sugar and flour then cut the cold butter into the two ingredients until the entire mixture resembles crumbs. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over top the filling and bake in the oven set at 325 degrees F for about 40 minutes. (The center should slightly jiggle when done baking.) Remove from oven and let cool for on cooling rack for about an hour and then chill in the refrigerator. Cut 3 rows by 3 rows to yield 9 squares. Store covered in the frig.