I broke my favorite blue spatula while baking these bars.

If that’s not a metaphor for life, then I don’t know what is.

You’re going in with your day. Everything appears normal. Out of nowhere, something unfortunate happens. You just keep moving forward. That’s all you can do.

Although my broken spatula is nothing in comparison to the tragic things that could happen — it provides perspective.

My spatula broke, but I already had the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl — I had to continue to make the batter or the ingredients would spoil. I went to my drawer, pulled out a fork, and continued to work.

And that is life. When something bad happens, you can’t just stop your whole life. Of course, spending time to process what has happened is important, but pushing through the pain (in a healthy way) has always been the best way for me to deal with negative experiences.

These cheesecake bars can also help with those bad moments. One bite and you’re transported to a quaint European bakery. You order a cappuccino and one of these bars. Birds chip in the background, the weather is perfect, and all is good in the world. If only. 

YIELD: 12 (24 mini) servings PREP TIME: 20 minutes

BAKE TIME: 35 minutes TOTAL TIME: 55 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 sleeves of graham crackers, crushed
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 table spoons butter, melted
• 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat oven 350 degrees.
2. Mix together crushed graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter.
3. Push down graham cracker mixture in an 8×8 pan.
4. Bake crust for 7 minutes.
5. While crust bakes, cream together cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract
6. Add eggs until smooth batter has formed.
7. Once crust comes out of the oven, pour in cheese mixture and bake until center springs back (35 minutes).
8. Once baked, allow to cool and put in fridge for two hours over night.
9. Decorate as desired and slice bars.

NOTES:

• You can decorate these with anything you may desire — nuts, fruit, chocolate sauce, etc.
• If you want a cheesecake pie, skip the square pan and purchase a pie shell to hold the batter.
• Use a warm serrated knife for best cutting results.

Stay warm and kind!

❤ ,

Hira