Strawberry Greek Yogurt Cheesecake Squares

Happy Thursday!

This recipe is kind of cheating a little bit since if you’ve read my blog for awhile you know that I posted a recipe for Greek Yogurt Cheesecake with Peaches and Honey back in the summer of 2011. Well, that recipe has turned into one of this site’s most popular recipes of all time. I tell you this definitely not to boast, but to tell you that it’s REALLY good and worth it to make.

First of all, the filling is incredibly light – using only creamy Greek yogurt as a base instead of typical cheesecake filling ingredients {cream cheese/sour cream/butter}. It’s almost like biting into a cloud – it’s that light – and it definitely doesn’t weigh you down like a big slice of traditional cheesecake might.

I decided that since that recipe has proven to be so popular and is so delicious, it clearly deserved both a second look and a strawberry version for Valentine’s Day next week.

And while I can’t go so far into saying this a total “guilt-free” dessert because of all the sugar, it’s definitely lighter than most. I loved the addition of the strawberry jam, especially! Just a warning though: the jam will sink into the cheesecake and cause, um, less than attractive crevices after baking. However, the saving grace here is that you cover the whole baked cheesecake with pretty sliced strawberries and a shiny jam glaze so no one will be able to tell.

I love dirty little secrets like that.

Next time, I really want to try a raspberry variation! Preferably when raspberries aren’t a bajillion dollars at the store though.

I hope you guys love this! You may be noticing an increase in baked good recipes on the site lately. Man….it’s all I can even THINK about. All I want are cookies, cakes, cobblers, pies and cheesecakes. I literally dream about them at night. I just want to be surrounded by all the glorious baked goods in all the land. I’m trying really hard to not give into every single craving, but a handful of raw almonds is just not as good as a warm cookie. Sigh. I’ll try to keep a balance between sweet and savory on here, but just wanted to let you know where my head was at right now!

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Strawberry Greek Yogurt Cheesecake Squares

Total Time

3 hrs 30 mins

 

Course: Dessert

Servings: 10 squares

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole fat Greek Yogurt
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 cup strawberry jam
• fresh strawberries for topping
• additional jam for topping

Crust

• 1 stick unsalted butter very cold
• 1.5 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 large lemon zested
• 1 whole egg yolk
• 2 tbsp cold water

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar and lemon zest. Cut in the butter and blend in with your fingers until mixture resembles cornmeal. Add egg yolk and cold water. Mix until dough comes together to form a shaggy ball (dough may be dry). Cover in plastic wrap and let chill for half an hour.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
3. Butter a 8" square pan generously. After your dough has chilled, remove from fridge and roll out on a lightly floured surface. You want the dough to be about 1/4" thick. Place the square pan on your rolled out dough and trace around the edges of the pan with a knife so you now have a square of dough. Place dough square in the pan and prick all over with a fork.
4. Bake crust for 25-30 minutes, until golden. Remove from oven and let cool briefly while you make the filling.
5. To make the filling, In a blender or food processor, combine the eggs, sugar, yogurt and vanilla. Blend until smooth then add cornstarch and pinch of salt and blend again. Pour filling into crust.
6. Place your strawberry jam into a small plastic ziploc bag. Snip off the tip of the bag and swirl jam around the cheesecake.
7. Lower oven temperature to 350 and bake cheesecake for 35-40 minutes. The cheesecake will begin to start separating from the sides of the dish and turn a light golden color. The top should be set but there should still be a slight jiggle. Note that when the cheesecake has finished cooking, the jam will have sunk into the cheesecake creating crevices. These aren't terribly attractive but you cover everything up anyway with strawberries at the end.
8. Chill cheesecake for 2 hours. Arrange sliced strawberries all over the top of the cheesecake. Zap 2 tbsp jam in the microwave and brush on the strawberries with a pastry brush - this will give the berries some shine. Carefully cut cheesecake into bars and serve.