Strawberry cream cheese bars

 

This is one of the best deserts I have made so far. They have a sugary crust and tart berry inside with a little creaminess from the cream cheese. I found the original recipe on Pinterest, one of my favorite places to find recipes because you get to browse all the delicious looking pictures first. The original recipe did not have cream cheese and as my sister says, everything is better with cream cheese.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Bars

adapted from Smells like Home

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp baking powder

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of 1 lemon

2 sticks unsalted butter

1 large egg

2/3 cups of cream cheese

4 cups strawberries, chopped

4 tsp cornstarch

Combine 1 cup of the sugar, baking powder and flour. Mix in salt and lemon zest with a fork. Mix in the butter and egg until it forms crumbs. Spread a little more then half of the crumb mixture in a greased 13x9 inch pan. Press down firmly on the crumbs in the bottom of the pan to form the crust.

In another bowl, stir the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Mix in the strawberries. Pour the strawberry mixture over the bottom crust. Add small scoops of cream cheese over the strawberries (about half a table spoon size). Spread the remaining crumbs over the top of the berries. Bake for 45 minutes. The top should be slightly golden brown when done. 

I made these twice. The first time I served them right out of the oven and they were warm and gooey. The second time I let them cool and they were easier to cut into bars. I preferred eating them hot out of the oven but the presentation was better after letting them cool. Either way they are really delicious.