Ingredients for Crust
- 30 chocolate sandwich cookies
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
Ingredients for Cheesecake
- 2 8-ounce blocks of cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract,
Ingredients for Strawberry Swirl
- 1/3 cup chopped strawberries
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons water
- red gel food coloring
Ingredients for Blueberry Swirl
- 1/3 cup blueberries, sliced in half
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons water
- blue gel food coloring
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 8 x 8 inch pan with parchment.
2. Pulse cookies and butter in a food processor until fine crumbs form and mixture comes together. Press the cookie mixture evenly on the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool.
3. Place a large baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven and fill hallway with water. Allow oven to preheat back to 350 degrees F.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sugar, egg, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Divide into three bowls.
5. To make the blue and red swirls, add strawberries and sugar to a food processor to puree. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water as necessary to make spreadable. Repeat this process with blueberries.
6. Add strawberry puree to one of the bowls filled with the cream cheese mixture. Stir to combine. Add the blueberry puree to one of the other bowls filled with the cream cheese mixture and stir to combine. Add a few drops of red and blue gel food coloring to each bowl to intensify the color!
7. Drop spoonfuls of cheesecake mixture into prepared pan, alternating with the plain, strawberry and blueberry mixture. Use a knife to swirl the mixture in a figure 8 pattern to create a fun design (being careful not to over mix).
8. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes on rack above the water bath until cheesecake is set. Cool for 30 minutes before transferring to refrigerator to set for at least an hour.
9. When ready to serve, cut into squares or use a star cookie cutter to cut into stars. Top with fresh whipped cream and patriotic sprinkles!
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