RASPBERRY LEMON CHEESECAKE BARS

You know I am not much for dessert, but I do love cheesecake.....I love anything with cheese!!!!! This is very easy, but has to be refrigerated for about 3 hours after cooking so plan ahead. It can certainly be made a day ahead. Add a few fresh raspberries on the side as a garnish.

To lighten it up you can substitute low fat graham crackers and low fat cream cheese for the real thing. Though I always say if you are eating dessert...GO FOR IT!

Ingredients:

CRUST
9 graham crackers
4 tbl unsalted butter (melted)
2 tbl sugar
dash of cinnamon
butter for greasing pan

FILLING
16 oz cream cheese at room temperature
2 eggs
1 large or 2 small lemons zested and juiced
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 cups fresh raspberries
powdered sugar for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Crust: Grease the bottom of a 9 x 9 pan with butter. Place a piece of parchment paper into the pan and press down at the corners and bottom. Blend the sugar, cinnamon and graham crackers until the texture of bread crumbs. Add melted butter and blend until smooth. Pour into the lined pan and pat down until evenly spread into the pan. Bake 10-12 minutes until golden and remove and set aside.

Filling: Blend cream cheese, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar until smooth. Pour batter onto cooled crust and cover with raspberries.
Bake 35 minutes until center is a bit jiggly. Remove from the oven and completely cool on the counter and then refrigerate for 3 hours. Once set, remove from pan by pulling up the parchment paper and slice into squares. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

This is a beautiful presentation and is an easy "make-ahead" dessert!
ENJOY!