cheesecake bars with homemade blueberry topping

Ingredients

FOR THE CRUST
1 sleeve graham crackers (about 1 cup)
2 tbsp granulated sugar
5 tbsp butter, melted

FOR THE CHEESECAKE
12 oz cream cheese at room temp
2/3 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs at room temp
1 tbsp milk at room temp
1 tsp vanilla
FOR THE BLUEBERRY TOPPING
1 1/2 cup blueberries fresh or frozen
1 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp tapioca starch or corn starch
4 tbsp water
1/2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup blueberries, in addition to the 1 1/2 cups listed above fresh or frozen

Instructions

1. Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper and set aside. 
2. Make the crust: Add the graham crackers to a food processor and pulse until you have fine crumbs. You can put the graham crackers in a gallon ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin, if you don't have a food processor. 
3. Pour the graham cracker crumbs into a small mixing bowl and add the sugar and melted butter and stir until combined - the mixture will be sandy and a little wet. Press this mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven, and set aside.
4. Make the cheesecake: Make sure your cold items have been brought to room temperature first! (See recipe notes for more info). 
5. Mix the cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, until creamed. Add the sugar and mix until combined. Add the eggs, two at a time, and beat on medium speed until just combined. Do NOT over mix them! Add the room temp milk and the vanilla, and give it a final quick mix. 
6. Bake: Evenly pour the cheesecake batter over the pre-baked crust, and bake for 21-23 minutes, or until the cheesecake is almost completely set - the center will still have a little bit of a wobble when you move the pan. 
7. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cheesecake cool completely - it will set up more during this time. Once cooled to room temp, cover the pan with foil and chill in the fridge for 3 hours before cutting and serving. Serve with the homemade blueberry topping - see below instructions. 
8. Make the blueberry topping: Make the topping just before serving the cheesecake. Add the 1 1/2 cup of blueberries (I used frozen) to a small saucepan. Add the water - it should cover the blueberries - and the sugar and vanilla. Bring to a low boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. While the blueberry/water mixture is coming to a boil, add the starch and the water to a small bowl, and whisk until the starch is completely dissolved. 
9. Once the blueberry/water mixture has come to a low boil, stir the dissolved cornstarch mixture into the blueberry mixture. Bring to a rolling boil (you may need to turn up the heat a tad). Once the rolling boil is reached, turn the heat down to low and and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes, or until desired thickness is achieved. Remove from the heat and stir in the additional 2/3 cup blueberries. Serve warm over the cheesecake bars! 
10. Store: Store the cheesecake bars in the fridge, covered tightly for up to 5 days. The blueberry topping can also be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days. 

FULL RECIPES

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