Raspberry Cream Cheese Streusel Bars

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a fabulous New Year's eve spent with family, friends and champagne. I feasted on sparkling wine, oliebollen, and raspberry cream cheese streusel bars. I made these the day before because they needed to chill overnight in the refrigerator. They were easy to make, easy to slice and easy to love. The combination of the cream cheese and raspberry tasted heavenly! Rating: 4.5 out of 5.






Raspberry Cream Cheese Streusel Bars: The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook - Allysa Torey & Jennifer Appel

Ingredients Crust:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, slightly softened and cut into small pieces
- 2 cups all-purpose flour

Cream Cheese Filling:
- ½ pound (one 8-ounce package) cream cheese (not softened)
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Streusel Topping:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups confectioners' sugar
- ¾ cup butter (1 ½ sticks), softened and cut into small pieces

Preserves Filling:
- ¾ cup apricot preserves (preferably unsweetened) (I recommend St. Dalfour preserves, and you can substitute the apricot for any fruit flavor you like)

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- To make the crust: In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and flour until crumbly and well combined. Transfer the mixture to an ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan and, using your hands (a spatula works much better), pat the crust evenly into the pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely, about 45 minutes.
- To make the cream cheese filling: In a medium bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Set aside.
- To make the streusel topping: In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour and confectioners' sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Then, using your hands, toss until the ingredients are well combined. Set aside.
- When the crsut is cool, spread the cream cheese filling evenly over the crust about ¼-inch from the edges. Gently spread a thin layer of the preserves over the cream cheese. Sprinkle the streusel over the entire top. Bake for 35 minutes. Cool to room temperature before cutting.


Here are some of the pictures I took of my Christmas splurgings.



It was all too delicious!