These Raspberry Almond Cheesecake Bars are the perfect party appetizer for Christmas, Baby Showers, Bridal Showers or a wedding. A favorite treat of ours!
We are HUGE cheesecake lovers at my house! HUGE.
This hasn’t always been the case though.
Initially it was just my husband and I who loved cheesecake.
He is more of a plain or fruit topped cheesecake kind of guy.
I, myself, am a lover of chocolate cheesecake and fun unique varieties of cheesecake.
Despite our love of it, we don’t make it very often.
Usually for special occasions only.
This past year, we convinced my daughter to try a bite of my husband’s birthday plain cheesecake.
She was quite hesitant to do it and after a chat she finally fessed up that she didn’t think she’d like it because it has cheese in it.
She is not a fan of cheese.
Unlike most kids, my kids don’t like quesadillas or string cheese.
So it’s understandable that since she thought cheese was in cheesecake, she wouldn’t like it.
After a silent giggle, I was able to let her know that there isn’t any actual cheese in the cheesecake.
That the cheese name comes from Cream Cheese, which is the main ingredient, not string cheese.
She then gave a little taste, and 2 slices later declared cheesecake to be her new favorite dessert.
As much as we love traditional cheesecake, we also love cheesecake bars.
These bars have a different crust than a traditional graham cracker crust and incorporate almonds.
The bars themselves have fruit in them, as opposed to on top and slice up beautifully and make the perfect finger appetizer for any party.
These Raspberry Almond Cheesecake Bars also make great gifts for neighbors, teachers and friends.
Really, any cheesecake lover will appreciate these bars.
You can use any fruit, but I’m a sucker for all things raspberry, and so it’s just natural to use raspberry as my fruit of choice.
However if you like Blueberries, I suggest you check out my Blueberry Cheesecake Bars too.
My one BIG tip for these coming out perfect is to line the pan with non-stick foil first.
This way you can pop them out of the pan after baking and slice them perfectly on a cutting board.
Not lining the pan will cause the bars to stick (even with spray) and make getting them out a bit difficult.
If you love cheesecake or need a baby shower or party appetizer, I highly recommend these Raspberry Almond Cheesecake Bars!
Raspberry Almond Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
- CRUST:
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- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3/4 cups almonds, chopped
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup cold butter cut into 1 Tablespoon pieces (I use salted)
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- FILLING:
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- 16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
Instructions
CRUST:
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Preheat oven to 325*F
Line a 9x9 glass dish with non stick foil or parchment paper, making sure to cover sides as well as bottom of pan.
In food processor or by hand, combine the flour, sugar, almonds and salt. Pulse 2 or 3 times to mix. If by hand, stir to combine.
Add the butter and pulse 8-10 times until the mixture forms large, coarse crumbs the size of small peas. If doing by hand, use a pastry blender to mix all ingredients until large pea sized crumbs form.
Press the crust mixture into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of lined dish.
Bake for15-20 minutes until golden golden.
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FILLING:
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In a large bowl, blend the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy.
Add flour and mix until incorporated.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until the batter is smooth.
Stir in the cream, vanilla and almond extracts.
Gently fold in the raspberries.
Pour the batter onto the prepared crust.
Bake 30-35 minutes, until the center is set when you give the pan a gentle jiggle.
Remove from the oven and, using a butter knife gently loosen the warm cheesecake square from the sides of pan.
Let pan cool on a wire rack for 1 hour.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours or overnight.
Using a sharp knife, cut into 16 squares. Serve cold.
Store tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.