Blackberry Lemon Cheesecake Bites

Blackberry Lemon Cheesecake Bites are one of my favorite things to eat. I use Pamela's Honey Grahams for a couple of reasons. First, they are incredibly dense and form a solid bottom crust when pressed down in the baking dish. Second, I also use two cream cheese bars, which make a firm cheesecake. Put them together, and you have a cheesecake that you can hold in your hand and eat just like a cookie. It is perfect.

I always like to offer a few health benefits when baking with fruit. So here are a couple of articles on the benefits of blackberries; 6 Blackberry Health Benefits or WebMD's Health Benefits of Blackberries to learn more about why blackberries are good for you.

Ingredients

Blackberry Lemon Sauce

Blackberries - I usually get a little more to pick through them to get the best ones.

Cheesecake Crust and Filling

Pamela's Honey Grahams - If your store has a gluten-free section, that is where I find these graham crackers. Of course, you can find them on Amazon. If you use regular graham crackers, just be aware you may need some small plates to put the pieces on when serving.

Vanilla Extract - You can certainly use your favorite, but I find that the Mccormick's Small Batch Pure Extract has an excellent vanilla taste.

I try and put the brands that I use so you can see the ingredients that are tried and true for me.

Making a Great Blackberry Lemon Sauce

I like my blackberries with the seeds, but you can always strain the sauce to take out the seeds. This is your choice, but I find that the blackberry flavor is not as strong when strained.

Zest and juice the lemon into separate bowls. Add the lemon juice and cornstarch to another bowl, stirring to combine.

Add the blackberries, sugar, and lemon zest to a saucepan. Heat over medium heat to a low boil while stirring. This takes about five to ten minutes.

Add the lemon cornstarch mix and continue to stir. The blackberries should be getting softer and breaking apart a little.

Continue to stir for about five minutes so the cornstarch will slightly thicken the blackberry sauce. Then take it off the heat.

Transfer the sauce to a glass jar after it cools slightly in the pan. Let it stand to cool some before putting the lid on and refrigerating overnight.

Creating a Solid Graham Crust

I love Pamela's Honey Grahams for making all my cheesecake bites and bars because they bake solid. So if you want to make a cheesecake that can be carried around, give these graham crackers a try.

Line a 9 X 9 baking dish with tin foil. Let two opposite sides be longer so you can use them to lift the whole cheesecake out of the dish.

Add the blanched almonds to the food processor and pause until very small pieces. Next, drop the graham squares in with the almonds. You want the pieces the size of sand.

Add the graham and almond mixture from the food processor to a bowl. Add the sugar and melted butter and mix with a fork until it is moist.

Pour graham cracker mixture onto the tin foiled lined baking dish and spread this around the bottom.

Press the graham cracker mixture along the whole bottom of the baking dish. You want it solid.

Set the baking dish to the side while you make the cheesecake filling.

Lemony Cheesecake Filling

In a stand or handheld mixer, blend the room temperature cream cheese and sugar until combined. Add one egg at a time and mix through the cream cheese. Turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides and across the bottom.

Add the condensed milk, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and the lemon zest mixing on a medium speed until smooth looking.

Pour the cheesecake filling onto the pressed-down graham cracker crust. I gently drop the baking dish to bring up any air bubbles.

Taking the jar of the blackberry and lemon sauce, I drop small spoonfuls of the blackberries around the top of my cheesecake.

You could take a butter knife and run it through the patches of blackberry sauce, but I like the abstract design.

Bake at 325°F(165°C or 170°C) for 40 minutes. It should be firm with just a slight wiggle. Be gentle; you don't want it to split on the top.

Let it sit out and cool for about 45 minutes. Then cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and let it refrigerate until the next day.

Cutting into Bites

Take the cheesecake out of the refrigerator, and grabbing the extended tin foil, just lift the whole thing out of the baking dish.

I pull down the sides of the tin foil, put my hand under the whole cheesecake, and start pulling the tin foil from the bottom. It comes off easily.

On a cutting board, I cut four strips of the 9 X 9 square. Then I cut four pieces from each strip. This way, I get 16 total pieces.

I think the cheesecake looks so unique with the different shapes of the baked-in blackberry lemon sauce.