Blueberry Cream Cheese Bars are layered dessert bars with a toasted pecan crust, whipped cream plus cream cheese filling, and a topping made with fresh blueberries. Try my Apple Cream Cheese Bars for another layered dessert bar.
Blueberry Cream Cheese Bars
This blueberry cream cheese bar recipe is a copycat recipe of Magnolia Bakery’s Blueberry Jamboree. The bakery first opened in New York in 1996 and is known for classic American baked goods. Since that time, the bakery has expanded to locations worldwide. These copycat Blueberry Jamboree dessert bars give you a creamy and nutty bite with a blueberry topping.
Ingredients & Substitutions
There are three important (and delicious) parts to this recipe–the blueberry topping, nutty crust, and cream cheese filling. Here are a few reminders about some of the ingredients needed.
Blueberries: I prefer fresh blueberries for this recipe, but you could also use frozen berries.
Cornstarch: Cornstarch is mixed with cold water to make a slurry. This is added to the blueberry mixture to thicken it up. (If you add cornstarch directly to the hot mixture, the sauce will be clumpy.)
Lemon Zest: Be sure to wash the lemon well before zesting.
Pecans: To make the recipe easier, buy pecans that have already been finely chopped. Otherwise, use a food processor to chop the nuts. If you don’t have a food processor, a pastry cutter works well for softer nuts, like pecans. Or, an apple cutter could also be used.
Heavy Cream: Also known as heavy whipping cream, heavy cream contains 36-40% fat. The cream is the dairy that supplements the cream cheese, giving the cheesecake filling a smoother texture.
Tips for Whipping the Cream
- Don’t aim for “stiff peaks”. You want the whipped cream to keep its shape and be soft, billowing peaks.
- Wait until peaks start to form before adding in the confectioners’ sugar. I much prefer confectioners sugar in this recipe, as it dissolves entirely and leaves a smooth texture. If you choose to use granulated sugar be sure to add it immediately at the beginning and whip it with the cream.
How to Store Blueberry Cream Cheese Bars
Let the bars chill in the refrigerator for about an hour before cutting and serving. Store, covered, in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Blueberry Desserts
Blueberry Cream Cheese Bars {Copycat Blueberry Jamboree}
Ingredients
Blueberry Topping
- 3 ½ cups (518 g) fresh blueberries, divided
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- ⅛ cup (25 g) brown sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 ½ tablespoons water
- ¾ teaspoon lemon zest
Crust
- 1 cup (110 g) toasted pecans, finely chopped
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks / 170g) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
Filling
- 2 cups (476 g) heavy cream
- 2 cups (220 g) sifted confectioners' sugar
- 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F and line a 9×13-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.
Blueberry Topping
- In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add 2 cups of blueberries, sugar, and brown sugar. Mix until sugar is dissolved. Blueberries will start to pop as they heat, this is normal.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water until the cornstarch is dissolved.
- Pour the cornstarch mixture into the blueberries and stir until thickened.
- Add the lemon zest. Stir to combine.
- Remove from heat and fold in the remaining blueberries.
- Pour the blueberry mixture into a separate bowl. Allow it to cool a few minutes before transferring the bowl to the refrigerator to chill as you make the crust and filling.
Crust
- To toast the pecans, add them to a medium skillet over medium heat. Toast until browned and fragrant, stirring frequently (3-5 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool.
- When ready, in a medium bowl, combine melted butter, flour, and toasted pecans.
- Press into the bottom of the prepared 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Bake 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.
Filling
- Add heavy cream to a mixing bowl. Start mixing at the lowest speed, and then gradually increase speed to medium until the cream starts to get thicker. (The gradual progression prevents you from spraying yourself with cream.)
- When the cream starts to thicken, stop the mixer. Slowly add in the confectioners' sugar and then resume mixing again, starting with low speed and increasing to medium speed, and eventually moving to a high speed. The cream will thicken and start to peak.
- In a separate large bowl, add cream cheese and beat until creamy.
- Gently fold the whipped cream mixture into the cream cheese. Pour the mixture over the cooled crust.
- Top with cooled blueberry mixture.
- Chill in the refrigerator 1 hour before serving.
Video
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I used to live in Manhattan for many years and LOVED Magnolia’s Blueberry Jamboree!!! Cannot wait to make this recipe!!!!
Since I will likely NEVER return to NYC, this is a special treat for a particular memory. Thanks so much!!!!
can you use a graham cracker crumb instead
Sure! 🙂
I LOVE all your recipes!! Keep them coming!
All of these deserts look wonderful. I’ve made a few of them and they turned out great. Thank you for your site because I am not a true baker but I can be with your recipes
How can I make a strawberry topping instead of blueberries? My mother LOVES strawberries and this would be a wonderful surprise for her.
You can but the appearance would be drastically different. Blueberries hold up well when making the sauce, strawberries will appear “mushy”. You could always use canned strawberry pie filling.
i love your recipes have tried many, but there are 2 people in my family of 4 that a allergic to dairy. do you do any dairy free deserts? i know thats pretty near impossible.
I am not a dairy-free baker, but there are many out there! Having an allergy to dairy is serious and I am simply not educated on the dietary restrictions enough to provide trusted dairy-free recipes. Sorry I am not more helpful!
good morning
just wondering if i can use frozen blueberries instead
and is there something else that I can use instead of heavy cream
Can you use Graham crackers instead of pecans for crust?
Do you have a gluten-free option? I have friends that have gluten problems. I can eat almost anything
So I love the taste of this Cheesecake and it is easy to make which makes it better. I have one slight criticism and it is more procedural than anything. I think you should whip the cream to soft peaks, remove 1/2-1 cup cup of whipped cream, and add it to the cream cheese to maybe gently change the temp of cheese so it does not go back to solid form. I think the sugar should not be added to the whipping cream at all, instead add it to the cream cheese. The 1/2 cup of whipped cream added after the sugar and cream cheese are blended might help the cream cheese to stop from going back into its solid form. Because the cream cheese is soft when whipped based on warmer temps than the very cold whipping cream. The minute I started to fold the whipped cream into the Cream cheese, and I only added maybe 1/2 cup at a time, it got clumpy a bit and grainy looking. I think that would affect the lift of the cream/cream cheese mixture also. I hope you can understand what I am talking about. The squares were still wonderful, and my family loved them. But the texture was bothersome. It did not stop us from eating them though! The texture of fine-sieved but creamy cottage cheese was why I gave it 4 stars instead of five stars and I think the procedure if tweaked would easily get it to a 5 star review.