I love cheesecake. But in my lazy old age, I prefer not to spend hours in its creation. Unless, of course, it’s a special occasion. Then I will do what needs to be done. But for a quick and easy cheesecake, that takes little effort, with no special ingredients required, this recipe works just fine. In fact, more than just fine. These bars are delicious.

I wrote this recipe up years ago. And while culling my “recipes to be tried” pile (about a foot deep), I found this beauty patiently waiting to be tried. And why I waited several years to make these easy to prepare bars is a puzzle. Of course, I also have other cheesecake bars on this site. And they too are wonderful. (Strawberry Rhubarb Cheesecake Bars, Tart Cherry Topped Cheesecake Bars, and Lime or Lemon Curd Topped Cheesecake Bars) But this one is just simplicity itself. And you can vary the flavor by whatever jam, jelly, preserves, or curd you happen to have on hand. I used blackberry preserves and they were perfect. A little tart. A little sweet. Terrific!

So, next time you get a hankering to build a cheesecake but would prefer to save most of the fuss and bother for another time, give this recipe a try.

Well, another evening of live music is in store for me tonight. And believe me, I am not complaining. Listening to live music is just one of the best ways I know of to stay connected with good and positive things in today’s complicated world.

There is so much negative happening these days, that for me, clearing my mind by listening to music helps me cope with today’s reality and remain reasonably sane. (I will never be completely sane. Just not in my genes.) But music, along with reading books, cooking, posting recipes, spending time with friends, or just puttering around the house (I am an excellent putterer BTW) keeps me on almost an even keel. Almost!

I hope you too have pleasant ways to deal with some of the harsher realities of life today. Even if hard times don’t hurt you personally, they are still out there affecting masses of humanity. And at least for me, sometimes that’s harder to deal with because nothing I do can help the situation. I simply can’t make things OK. (But I would if I could!)

Peace and love to all.

Crust:

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

½ c. brown sugar, packed

½ tsp. kosher salt

¾ c. (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temp., cut into small pieces

1¼ c. jam, jelly, preserves, or curd, divided

Place the flour, brown sugar, salt, and butter in the bowl of your food processor. Whirl until mixture begins to form small lumps. Sprinkle mixture evenly in a 9×13-inch pan. Pat down gently. Just enough to make an even surface. (No need to wash the food processor bowl or chopping blade at this point. Use them again for the filling.)

Bake the crust in a pre-heated 350-degree oven on the middle rack for 15-18 minutes, or until light golden brown. Remove from oven but leave the oven at 350-degrees.

Evenly spread the hot crust with 1 cup of the jam. (I use a small offset spatula for this task.)

While the crust is baking, prepare the filling.

Filling:

2 (8-oz. pkgs.) (2 cups) cream cheese, room temp.

2 lg. eggs

¾ c. granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

In the same food processor bowl, whirl the cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs, granulated sugar, and vanilla. Whirl until well combined.

Spread the filling evenly over the jam covered crust. (I use the same offset spatula again that I used to spread the jam.) (And yes, I already told you I was lazy!)

Drop small bits of the remaining quarter cup of jam over the cream cheese mixture. Then gently swirl it to make a nice pattern for the top of the bars. Hint: I find it helps to stir the jam a bit before dropping it onto the cream cheese mixture. It loosens the consistency of the jam which then makes it easier to swirl.

Bake the bars, still on the middle rack, for 28-30 minutes or until slightly puffed. Remove from oven, cool completely, and refrigerate until ready to serve.