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No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
![No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake Bars](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/08/19/dining/no-bake-blueberry-cheesecake-bars/no-bake-blueberry-cheesecake-bars-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 20 minutes, plus 1 hour’s chilling
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 16graham cracker squares (8 whole crackers), crushed
- ¼cup ground pecans or walnuts, optional
- 3tablespoons melted butter
- 18-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1cup ricotta cheese
- 2tablespoons honey, or to taste
- Rind of a lemon, freshly grated
- Pinch salt
- About 1½ cups blueberries
Preparation
- Step 1
Combine crushed graham crackers, nuts if using, and melted butter. Press evenly into bottom of an 8- or 9-inch square pan (glass is good) to form a crust about ¼-inch thick. Put in refrigerator until ready to use.
- Step 2
Using a standing or hand mixer, or a whisk, combine cream cheese, ricotta, honey, lemon rind and salt, and blend until smooth.
- Step 3
Spread cheese mixture carefully and evenly over crust, using a spatula or butter knife to smooth top. Cover with fresh blueberries and chill for at least an hour, or until set. Cut into squares or bars and serve.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
So I made this over the weekend and not sure what I might have done wrong, but it never set :(.
It was very tasty, but when i cut it up it crumbled... not enough melted butter in the graham crackers perhaps? I put it in the fridge for two hours...
I made this as written. I saw others had trouble with it setting so I strained my ricotta to get out any excess moisture. We loved having a dessert that wasn't sugar loaded. Fresh and delicious.
I've also made recipes with ricotta that never set up, and I suspect ricotta is the culprit. Consistency and amount of liquid among brands and types of ricotta varies.
Instead of nuts in the crust, I used 1/4 cup of shredded coconut.
For the crust I lined an 8x8 pan with not-too-sweet cookies. The moisture from the cheese mixture softened them a bit but they held together to make a nice crust. I also cooked the blueberries for a few minutes with a bit of sugar and lemon and thickened with cornstarch as I don't care for raw blueberries. It set up beautifully. I'll absolutely make this again.
For a 9" pan (the only one we had), we added another 4 whole graham crackers and 2 tbsp butter (sorry). We let it set overnight and it was the perfect Sunday brunch pastry - not too sweet, but sweet enough, and pretty on the plate. And delicious. To keep it from falling apart when you serve it, be sure to give the crust a good squashing with the bottom of a measuring cup.
add ground nutmeg
I doubled the crackers and butter, and let it set overnight. Letting it set that long helps so much. Added an extra 1/2 tbl of honey. Also after peeling the lemon rind I squeezed about a tsp of the juice into the cheese mixture. The lemon juice gives it what it needs! Ive made this a few times now and have used bannans and chocolate chips, and strawberriers. They were all a hit!
For added complexity, add 2 tablespoons of shredded mint to the cream cheese batter...stellar.
Eat it within a day. If you leave the leftovers in the fridge too long they just don't taste as fresh.
Prettier to present and easier to cut up if prepared in a rectangular tart pan
Good. But use more butter. It doesn't set all that firmly, but I don't have a problem with that. I like it that it's not too sweet--lets the blueberry flavor come through.
More butter
This recipe works perfectly for serving individually in little jars. I used crushed ginger cookies for the base (didn’t add any butter) then topped with the cheesecake mixture (with the lemon rind of a full lemon) and berries. It was cute and delicious. It didn’t need any additional sugar.
Made this as written, and turned out great! If you're looking for a true cheesecake flavor its definitely not as sweet, but this was perfect as a light and palate cleansing dessert after a heavy meal. Didn't add extra butter to the crust as others have mentioned but didn't have any trouble with it - used the bottom of a measuring cup to really press it into the pan and it set just fine. Used part skim ricotta, which tends to be a little dryer, also set great.
This dessert shows off summer fruit very well. The limited sweetness really lets the fruit shine. I added about two more tablespoons of honey because it was not sweet enough for me. The filling will not harden in the time allotted, but it’s still super tasty. I placed some of the leftovers in the fridge overnight and it has hardened nicely with a longer time to chill. If you do want the cheesecake consistency make it a day ahead and chill it overnight.
Made this week with excellent results! Used a store bought walnut crust, made the filling with all cream cheese, 3 T maple syrup, and lime zest. Tossed the blueberries with a tablespoon of maple sugar before gently pressing onto the filling. After 4 hours in the fridge it came out beautifully. Set up and sliced well. Try this!
For the blueberry sauce, use the recipe from recipe for “Fresh Corn Pancakes With Blueberry Sauce” and add 1 Tbsp cornstarch to thicken at the end (mix 1 tbsp cornstarch and 1 tbsp water, then add to sauce; heat until it starts to simmer/ boil, then keep on heat with stirring for another 2-3 minutes)
Really good and fresh, even in the middle of winter with a windchill of 5 degrees. Upping the butter by 1.5tbls and refrigerating the crust overnight ensured that it stayed intact. I'm certain there are other brands that offer this but Galbani has a whole milk ricotta that has double cream in it. There is no issue with liquid. Also you can make your own ricotta from Melissa Clark which is outstanding. Did add the optional 1/4 cup sugar, Mr. Bittman mentioned. Thanks for this recipe!
Added lavender to the cream cheese/ricotta/honey/lemon mix, which really compliments the blueberries.
Used a few more of a gram, crackers and additional butter and added lemon juice for a bit of tiredness. Could be made any tart pan, which would be easier for her to cut.
If anyone else is making this gf, 2 packets of Schar grams are enough to get a 1/4 in crust; I used 3 and 1/4 c pecans and even after pressing firmly with a measuring cup had a 1/2 inch crust (doesn’t bother me, just not quite what the recipe asks for). Had a very thick ricotta, so didn’t drain it but did leave overnight before sampling and the bars set and the crust held together well. Taste-wise, I prefer Bon Appétit’s lime ginger no-bake cheesecake bars, but these ones are quicker to make
Based on other’s comments, I increased the melted butter to 5tbs and the crust set perfectly. I’m also gluten-free so I used Schär chocolate covered graham crackers for the crust. (I added chopped pecans too.) I put the crust in the freezer to set quickly as I made the filling. Turned out great! So refreshing as a summer dessert.
Used 8oz brick of Philadelphia cream cheese and 1 cup whole milk ricotta, whipped with the mixer (not just blended). Doubled graham crackers and added whole stick of butter and it set up well..mashed crust with a cup and refrigerated 45 minutes. It's not supposed to be super sweet. Perfect for a refreshing summer dessert for people who don't care for sugary desserts.
Why not just pop the crust into the oven for 10 minutes? I know it won’t qualify as “no bake,” but really? And if you start with graham crumbs, you’ll make up the time not having to crush crackers
Thanks to commenters! - used an extra tbsp of butter - used 2.5 tbsp sugar -- I am so not a fan of oversweet but had to ramp it up another .5 tbsp :) - drained ricotta - used defrosted mixed frozen berries and just added them when I served it - no problem setting but big problem getting out of the pan --- the second day it was much easier --- more delish the second day too!
Did not fare well with the crowd, definitely more bitter than sweet, try the tip with more honey or bit of sugar? Might try again :)
Won’t make again. Crust didn’t hold together. Not sweet even with 3 T honey. Really disappointing.
I used 5T of butter and the crust was perfect. Also strained my ricotta. This was delicious! I made it two days in a row. The second day was for a family with small kids so I made it a bit sweeter (twice the honey) and was still delicious!
Made this with Neufchatel cheese and part-skim ricotta. Omitted the nuts and the lemon because I forgot to buy it, and used an entire pint of blueberries. It was super easy to make, set up nicely, and was absolutely delicious.
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