Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie Bars
Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie Bars feature a bright lemony flavor. They can be made with fresh or frozen blueberries all year round!
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It is well-known in my family that I don’t make pie. I do make exceptions for pies with non-pastry crusts (eg. graham cracker crust), and very occasionally pies made with store-bought crusts. I just don’t really like pastry pie crusts, and I don’t have the patience to work with them.
However, I don’t have issues with other fruit desserts like crumbles, crisps, or cobblers. They are all delightful, and they’re what I would normally make in lieu of pies when I have excess fruit on hand.
I also like making pie bars. These are a fruity bar with a cookie-like crust. They can be made with any kind of fruit, and may or may not be topped with a glaze or icing. This time I used blueberries and added a cream cheese swirl in the fruit layer, as well as some lemon zest in the cookie layer.
These Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie Bars can be made with fresh or frozen blueberries, so you can eat them all year long. But the berry flavor and fresh citrus taste so summery, I recommend making them ASAP before you get into the spicier flavors of fall.
How to Make Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie Bars
Making these berry-filled bars will involve making three different components – the berry filling, the cream cheese swirl, and the cookie crust. Luckily, all of the components are pretty easy to make.
Blueberry Filling
Start by making the blueberry filling so that it has a chance to cool a little before adding it to the cooking crust. Add the blueberries, sugar and cornstarch to a small saucepan and stir. Heat the saucepan over medium-high heat.
Cook until the berries lose their juice, stirring often. When the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and zest. Set aside to cool.
Cream Cheese Swirl
Cream together the softened cream cheese and sugar in a medium bowl with a spatula or hand mixer. Mix in the egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside.
Cookie Crust
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside. Add the softened butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl). Cream together the butter and sugar until lightened in color. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until a soft dough forms.
Press 2/3 to 3/4 of the dough into the bottom of a 9×13″ baking pan that has been lined with parchment paper. Spread the blueberry filling over the layer of cookie dough. Spread or dollop the cream cheese swirl over the blueberry filling, gently swirling the two together with a knife or skewer, if desired. Drop the remaining cookie dough evenly over the top of the filling in small pieces.
Bake the pie bars at 350°F for 40-50 mintues, until the top crust is becoming golden brown and the blueberry filling is bubbling. Cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before cutting.
Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for a longer period of time.
Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie Bars Ingredients
- Fresh or frozen blueberries – You will be cooking these in a saucepan before baking, so fresh or frozen doesn’t really matter here.
- Granulated sugar – You will be using sugar in the blueberry filling, the cream cheese swirl, and the cookie crust.
- Cornstarch – You will be using cornstarch to thicken the blueberry filling
- Lemon juice – You will be adding lemon juice to the blueberry filling. Since you also need lemon zest from a fresh lemon, it’s best to use fresh lemon juice here too.
- Lemon zest – You will be using lemon zest in both the blueberry filling and the cookie crust. Use a microplane or other citrus zester to zest your lemons.
- Softened cream cheese – Either regular or light cream cheese will work for the cream cheese swirl.
- Large eggs – You will need eggs for both the cream cheese swirl and the cookie crust.
- Vanilla extract – You will need vanilla extract for the cream cheese swirl.
- All-purpose flour – You will be using all-purpose flour for the cookie crust.
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Softened unsalted butter
Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie Bars Variations
These berry-filled bars can easily be made without the cream cheese swirl. Simply skip the ingredients and steps to make the cream cheese swirl component of the recipe.
In this case, the Blueberry Pie Bars can be made dairy-free by replacing the butter in the cookie crust with your favorite dairy-free butter alternative.
Want more blueberry recipes?
Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie Bars Nutrition Notes
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for one bar if the recipe is cut into 16 pieces. If your pieces are larger (or smaller) than this, the nutrition information will vary accordingly.
A Blueberry Pie Bar variation that skips the cream cheese swirl can be made dairy-free. Simply skip the ingredients under the “Cream Cheese Swirl” heading in the recipe. You will also need to replace the butter in the cookie crust with a dairy-free butter alternative.
Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Add 600 grams (4 cups) fresh or frozen blueberries, 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar, and 2 Tablespoons (16 g) cornstarch to a medium saucepan and stir. Heat the saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring often until it forms a thick sauce and comes to a boil, about 10-15 minutes. Stir in 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice and 1 teaspoon (2 g) lemon zest. Remove the pot from the heat and set aside to cool slightly while you prep the other components of the bars.
- Add 4 ounces (113 g) softened cream cheese, and 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar to a medium bowl. Use a hand mixer (or spatula) to cream them together. Beat in 1 large egg and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside.
- Prepare a 9×13" baking pan by lining it with parchment. Turn oven on to 350°F.
- Whisk together 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons (6 g) baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Add 1 cup (227 g) softened unsalted butter and 1 1/2 cups (300 g) granulated sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large bowl). Cream the butter and sugar together at medium-high speed. Add 2 large eggs and 1 teaspoon (2 g) lemon zest and beat the mixture again at medium-high speed until it's light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix at low speed until the flour is completely incorporated and a dough forms.
- Press 2/3 to 3/4 of the cookie crust dough evenly into the prepared baking pan. Spread the blueberry filling over the dough. Spread the cream cheese swirl evenly over the blueberry filling. Gently swirl the two layers together, if desired.
- Drop small pieces of the remaining dough evenly over the top of the filling. Bake for 40-50 minutes until the top of the crust is light brown. Cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting.
Nutrition
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