Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake Squares

Cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts. Having a slice of cheesecake sometimes is too much. How can you eat your cheesecake and have it too? The answer is to simply make bite size cheesecake. These lemon raspberry cheesecakes squares are a delicious way to indulge in some cheesecake without feeling guilty about eating a whole slice.

Ingredients: 

non stick cooking spray

a full 9 ounce package of chocolate wafer cookies

salt 

5 tablespoons unsalted butter that has been melted and is warm

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 8-ounce bars of room temperature cream cheese

2/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon plain powdered gelatin 

1 cup raspberry jam

Method:

Set your oven to 350°F. Spray your 13-by-9 inch baking pan with non stick cooking spray. Cut a piece of parchment paper as wide as the pan and about 22 inches long. Place the parchment paper into baking pan making sure that the parchment paper is in all of the corners. Spray the parchment paper with the non stick cooking spray. Next, place all of the chocolate wafers and a pinch of salt into your food processor. Pulse until the wafers turn into fine crumbs. With the food processor running, add the melted butter slowly to the cookie crumbs. Pulse until the mixture becomes like wet sand.  Now that the cookie crumbs resemble wet sand, it is time to place the crumbs into the baking pan. Press the cookie crumbs into an even layer. Bake for 15 minutes, and let cool on a cooling rack.

Using a mixer, beat the granulated sugar with the lemon zest until moist and fragrant. Now add the cream cheese, sour cream, and powdered sugar. Beat the mixture at a medium to medium-low speed until smooth, and creamy. Next, add the egg, vanilla extract, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. mix until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated. Once the cheese mixture has come together, place the cheese mixture on top of the cooled cookie crumbs. Make sure that the cheese mixture is evenly spread across the cookie crumb base. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. After 15 minutes, rotate the pan and cook for another 15 minutes. Once the cheesecake has baked for 30 minutes, let it cool on a cooling rack.

While the cheesecake is cooling, it is time to make the raspberry topping. In a small bowl, stir the tablespoon of lemon juice and gelatin. Set aside until the gelatin softens. In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the 1 cup of raspberry jam for about 45 seconds. After microwaving, stir the jam until it is smooth and has become m ore fluid like. Add the gelatin to the raspberry jam and stir to dissolve. Set aside to cool down.

With a toothpick, lightly score the surface of the cheesecake. Pour the raspberry mixture over the cheese filling. Tilt the pan to make sure that the raspberry mixture is evenly spread across the top of the cheesecake. Refrigerate the cheesecake so that the raspberry topping can set up. With the ends of the parchment paper, lift the cheesecake out of the baking pan. Cut the cheesecake into evenly sized squares. You can make around 20 cheesecake squares. Garnish each cheesecake square with a fresh raspberry. Once the cheesecake squares are cut, you are ready to serve them.