Strawberry Cheesecake Bars

Creamy cheesecake with a fresh puréed strawberry and sour cream layer, and topped with macerated strawberry slices. The original recipe called for making a foil sling in the pan before adding the crust and filling to make it easier to remove from the pan and slice (instructions below). Next time I’ll try that as it will make it easier to serve! Makes (24) 2-inch squares.

Recipe

Crust:
9 graham crackers
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
8 T. unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
1-1/2 lbs. cream cheese
1 c. sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Topping:
6 oz. hulled strawberries (1 heaping cup), hulled (plus 5 hulled strawberries, thinly sliced for garnish)
2 c. sour cream

Make a foil sling for a 13x9-inch baking pan by folding two long sheets of aluminum foil; the first sheet should be 13 inches wide and the second sheet should be 9 inches wide. Lay sheets of foil in the pan perpendicular to each other, with extra foil hanging over the edges of the pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan. Spray with vegetable oil spray.

For the Crust: Preheat oven to 300-degrees. Process cracker pieces and sugar in the food processor until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Add flour and salt and pulse to combine, about 2 pulses. Add melted butter and pulse until crumbs are evenly moistened, about 10 pulses.

Using your hands, press the crumb mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Using the bottom of a dry measuring cup, firmly pack crust into pan. Bake until fragrant and beginning to brown around the edges, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely.

For the Filling: Preheat oven to 300-degrees. Process the cream cheese and sugar until smooth, about 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl halfway through. With the processor running, add eggs, one at a time, until just incorporated, about 30 seconds total. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add vanilla and process to combine, about 10 seconds.

Pour cream cheese mixture over cooled crust. Bake until center is almost set but still jiggles slightly when the pan is shaken, about 40-45 minutes.

For the Topping: Meanwhile, in a clean, dry processor bowl, process the 6 ounces of strawberries and 1/2 cup sugar until puréed, about 30 seconds. Stir the strawberry purée and sour cream in a bowl until combined. Set aside.

Remove cheesecake from the oven. Pour strawberry mixture evenly over cheesecake, return pan to oven and bake until topping is just set, about 15 minutes.

Transfer pan to wire rack and let cheesecake cool completely, about 2 hours. Cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold and set, at least 4 hours or overnight.

Slice remaining 5 strawberries thin and gently toss with remaining 1 tsp. sugar in a bowl. Using foil overhang, lift cheesecake out of pan. Cut into 24 squares. Garnish each square with 1 strawberry slice and serve.