Red White and Blue Bars
Servings 20 bars
These red, white, and blue bars have a creamy filling, graham cracker crust, and berry flag topping, making them perfect for July 4th or Memorial Day. Easy to make gluten-free.
Ingredients
Crust:
- 3 cups (12.7 ounces or 360 grams) graham cracker crumbs see notes
- 1/3 cup (67 grams) brown sugar
- pinch salt
- 3/4 cup (168 grams) unsalted butter melted, see notes
Filling:
- 32 ounces (907 grams) full-fat cream cheese room temperature, see notes
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup (173 grams) sour cream room temperature
- 4 large eggs 50 grams each out of shell, room temperature
Decoration:
- 18 ounces (18 ounces or 510 grams) fresh raspberries
- 1 1/4 cups (6 ounces or 170 grams) fresh blueberries see notes
Instructions
Prepare the crust:
- Preheat the oven to 325 °F (167 °C) and lightly grease a 9”x13” pan.
- Place the graham crackers in a food processor fitted with an S-blade and process until you have uniform fine crumbs.3 cups (12.7 ounces or 360 grams) graham cracker crumbs
- Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in the brown sugar and salt until combined.1/3 cup (67 grams) brown sugar, pinch salt
- Stir in the butter until well combined.3/4 cup (168 grams) unsalted butter
- Pat evenly onto the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 minutes while preparing the filling.
Prepare the filling:
- In a large mixing bowl using an electric hand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy.32 ounces (907 grams) full-fat cream cheese, 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- Add the vanilla, salt and sour cream and beat on low until combined.1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 3/4 cup (173 grams) sour cream
- Add in the eggs, one by one, until combined. Be sure not to overmix.4 large eggs
- Pour this into the crust, which has cooled for at least 10 minutes.
- Bake at 325 °F (167 °C) for 37-45 minutes or until the middle appears set.
- Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack, and let come to room temperature, about 2 hours, before chilling for 8+ hours. You can make the cheesecake portion up to 4 days in advance (and cover and refrigerate), but I'd recommend making the bars the day before serving so they're as fresh as possible.
Decorate:
- Rinse and lay the berries out flat on a paper towel to dry. Pat them dry with more paper towel before decorating the bars.
- Use the blueberries to create a US flag design on top of the bars. In the upper left corner, make a 7x5 section of blueberries for the "stars." For the raspberries, I recommend using a knife to very gently mark straight lines into the bars that will guide you where to put your raspberries.18 ounces (18 ounces or 510 grams) fresh raspberries, 1 1/4 cups (6 ounces or 170 grams) fresh blueberries
- If you have leftovers, it's best to remove the fruit if storing for more than 1 day to prevent it from getting soggy/moldy.
- Undecorated cheesecake bars can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
- 23-24 sheets of graham crackers will give you 3 cups of crumbs. If you're GF, use GF graham crackers.
- If you're gluten-free, use gluten-free graham crackers. I tested this recipe with Honey Cinnamon Seed & Nut Flour Sweet Thins from Simple Mills (using 360 grams) and they came out great. Regular gluten-free graham crackers also work.
- If using European butter, use 156 grams of butter instead of 168 grams and add 12 grams of water. Some, or all of the 12 grams, can be vanilla extract.
- If you live outside of the US or Canada, you need to drain some of the whey from the cream cheese so your bars bake up properly. The stuff at Lidl, Aldi, etc. works just as well as Philadelphia brand. You need to buy 1200 grams of cream cheese and squeeze out the liquid until you have 907 grams of cream cheese left. It's totally fine if it's a little more or less.
- You need 35 blueberries. The amount called for in the recipe will give you enough so that you have some choice to choose similarly-sized blueberries.
- The nutrition information provided is calculated as a courtesy and is only an estimate. I am not a licensed nutritionist or dietitian. For the most accurate nutritional data, consult a professional or use your preferred calculator.
Nutrition
Calories: 376kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 5gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 15gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 102mgSodium: 258mgPotassium: 159mgFiber: 2gSugar: 21gVitamin A: 937IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 80mgIron: 1mgNet Carbs: 29
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