It’s fresh blueberry season and our fridge is teeming with them. I just can’t resist then during the one season of the year I can eat all of them I want. Of course, there’s still the thought of “What should I make with all these blueberries?” I’ve made Black and Blueberry Jam and my favorite Homemade Blueberry Crisp recipe, but I wanted something new. I found a recipe for blueberry shortbread and adapted it to make Blueberry Cream Cheese Shortbread Bars. And Y’all. Y’all. These things are scrumptious! My family and extended family are always thrilled when I make a dessert because I eat a few bites and then give the rest to them. This time? I kept “taste testing” this at different times with my two bite rule. Would it be good warm? Yes. Would it be good cold? Yes. Would it be good for a snack? Yes. Would it be good just because? Yes.
While I love my traditional recipe, but I have made adaptions for gluten-free so my daughter could eat it and dairy-free so the baby can have a bite too. Really, how many food allergies can one family have? No matter how I made it the entire family loved i. That’s a cooking win.
Blueberry Cream Cheese Shortbread Bars Recipe
These bars are so simple to make! The prep time is minimal and they are delicious served hot or cold. For best results wash and drain the blueberries and then gently pat them dry. Wet mushy blueberries just add extra moisture to the batter that doesn’t need to be there. It took me a while to find a substitute for cream cheese. You can use plain cashew nut cheese or if you are not allergic to soy, vegan cream cheese. I’ll be honest and say my favorite version is with the real cream cheese.
Printable Recipe:
- Crust & Topping
- ½ cup butter, cut into pieces
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour OR gluten free all-purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- Filling:
- 1 (8 ounces) package cream cheese
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 pint (16 ounces) blueberries
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- For Dairy Free: Substitute 1 (8 ounces) container cashew nut cheese OR Vegan cream cheese
- For Vegan: use the recommended dairy free cheese and replace sugar with vegan sugar
- To Make Crust:
- Mix flour, salt, baking powder, and brown sugar until blended. Blend in butter and almond extract until mixture resembles small crumbs. Set aside.
- To Make Filling:
- Mix sugar, extract and cream cheese until blended. Add in blueberries and mix well.
- Prep:
- In a 8″ by 8″ baking dish, spread 1/2 the flour mixture across the bottom of a baking dish. Press down firmly. Bake at 350 for 5-8 minutes until crust is lightly browned.
- Add filling to top of crust and top with the remaining crumb topping. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes longer or until crust is lightly browned and filling is set.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool. Cut into bars. Store leftovers in the fridge.
Be sure to store the bars in the fridge- if you have leftovers!
What is your favorite summer blueberry recipe?
You might like these recipes:
Raspberry Lemon Gooey Butter Bars
My daughter has just gotten diagnosed with a gluten intolerance. So this recipe couldn’t have been more timely.
These look devine. I have never tried this and I am sure they taste as great as they look, if not better.
My husband would absolutely love these! He is all about anything and everything blueberry this summer. Delicious!
This is such a classic favorite dish and I love how easy the steps are. I do have a giant bag of fresh blueberries, so will try this soon for a summer picnic.
I have been a lot of these lately and I am so tempted to try one myself. Looks good
We are going blueberry picking this weekend so this is such a great recipe to use with our spoils. I just love shortbread!
The center of those bars look lush.. I love blueberry and cream cheese together. A slice with a scoop of ice cream would be an absolute treat.
I bet this is good with ice cream. I cant eat blueberries I would substitute it with strawberries or even blackberries!
What a great looking blueberry dessert! This would certainly be a big hit with my family and I don’t know whether I’d have the discipline to abide by the two bite rule. 🙂 Will try this soon.
the perfect treat with a coffee, simple to make and gooey and delicious and they have my favorite berry Blueberry definitely on my to-bake list
Those would make great pair for my cup of tea right now. Glad you shared the recipe, for a non baker like me, it seems doable.
That looks so good! I seriously love cream cheese and I like having it in desserts like this one! I’m sure it would be amazing with strawberry as well! Can’t wait!
Delicious! I would love to have some of those blueberry cream cheese bars! I wish I had more luck baking things. I will still try my best to follow your recipe. After all, practice makes perfect!
Lovely recipe for shortbread I enjoy a good dessert with coffee or tea and this one fits the bill besides blueberries are awesome
Your Blueberry and cream cheese bars are look so fantastic and tempting! I’ll make sure to make it at home.
I love blueberries. I just bought some and they are in the fridge. Your recipe which is gluten free and has vegan options is inspiring me to try this out today itself. It looks yum in your pics. 🙂
Blueberry and cream cheese is such a yummy flavor combination! I have some fresh blueberries in my fridge, so I might give these a try this week!
I have been craving blueberries lately. I may have gone hog wild when they went on sale recently in my area. I need to use up some of them and this looks like the perfect recipe for it! Yum!
These look ooey, gooey and delish! Such a fun dessert!
I wish I can have a bite right now, or just grab one bar through my screen 🙁 .. These bars are awesome, I can’t wait to make some.
These look amazing! We’ve been on a berry kick this year, and blueberries are always in our fridge.
I love all of the flavors in these bars! Shortbread with fruit and cream cheese “filling” is one of my favorite desserts. I like that you can make these allergen free too!
They sure do sound tasty! I’d love one of those with some milk. I always have cream cheese on hand, I cook with it all of the time.
I SOOO need to make this. I want to eat it right of the screen and since I can’t I will have to make it. I just bought some blueberries so it is the perfect time to do it. Thank you for the idea.
Those look absolutely delicious. My sister in law needs to have gluten free options AND dairy free options too. This would be perfect for her. She has a sweet tooth.
Those look so gooey and delicious. I am all about yummy treats like this, so I am excited to make these bars SOON.