Cooking Thursday

 Here's the recipe I promised you earlier this week. These are the bars Heather brought to our July 4 gathering.  You could change up the color for different holidays.  We all thought they were so good!

Red, White and Blue Cheesecake Bars

1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar

3 8 oz packages cream cheese
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
red and blue gel food coloring

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Line 9x13 pan with parchment paper.  Stir together graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar. Press into pan and set aside.
Beat softened cream cheese with sugar and salt, mix well. Stir in eggs, one at a time beating each egg well.  Stir in sour cream and vanilla, mix until creamy.
Transfer 1 1/3 cups filling evenly into two bowls. Add red food coloring to one bowl and green to the other.
Pour the remaining white filling over the graham cracker crumb base.
Pour alternating lines of red and blue filling down the length of the bars. Use a knife to create a swirl pattern.
Bake for 50-55 minutes until center is set. When done, turn off oven, open oven door and let set inside for an hour.
Remove from oven, refrigerate overnight, then pull up parchment paper and remove from pan. Cut into squares and serve!