• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

1½ pounds (three 8-ounce packages) cream cheese

¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter

2½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon salt (some for the crust, some for the filling)

2/3 cup (packed) light brown sugar

4 large eggs

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1. About an hour ahead of time, unwrap the cream cheese and place it in a large bowl. Use a table knife to cut it into 1-inch pieces, and let it stand at room temperature to soften.

2. Adjust the oven rack to a medium-low position and preheat the oven to 350°F (325°F if you’re using a glass pan).

3. Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave (30 to 60 seconds on high power), or in a small saucepan over low heat.

4. Combine the flour, cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon of the salt in a large bowl, and stir briefly. Crumble in the brown sugar, and then pour in the melted butter, scraping it all in with a rubber spatula. Use a spoon or fork to mix the butter into the dry ingredients until uniformly blended. Transfer this mixture to an ungreased 9-by 13-inch pan, and pat/press it evenly and firmly into place, forming a crust that coats the entire bottom surface of the pan.

5. Add the eggs, lemon juice, vanilla extract, the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt, and the granulated sugar to the softened cream cheese. Use a handheld electric mixer (or a sturdy whisk) to beat all these ingredients together. Start slowly, so as not to splash, and then gradually work your way up to high speed as the batter comes together. Keep going until the mixture is uniformly blended. There will still be some small lumps of cream cheese, and that is fine. Pour this mixture on top of the crust, scraping in every last bit with a rubber spatula. There’s no need to spread it; it will form an even layer on its own.

6. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden, the top looks dry, and nothing jiggles when you shake the pan. Remove the pan from the oven, and immediately use a very sharp knife to cut 24 bars with a gentle sawing motion, so as not to disturb the lovely top surface. Cool completely in the pan before lifting out the squares.

GET CREATIVE

For a crisper crust, you can bake the crust on its own in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove it from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before pouring in the cream cheese mixture. Once the crust is filled, return the pan to the oven and bake for 20 minutes as directed.

For a deeper flavor in the crust, you can replace 1 cup of the flour with finely ground almonds. (Pulverize them to a fine powder in a food processor or blender, or look for ground almonds or almond meal in the baking section of the grocery store.)

Add 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest to the filling mixture for extra flavor. Grate the zest from the lemon before you cut it open to squeeze the juice. Use a microplane grater (Get Cooking) or the fine holes of a box grater; or shave the lemon peel (outermost yellow part only) with a vegetable peeler, and then chop it with a sharp knife.

You can top the cooled bars with your favorite jam or marmalade, spread in a thin layer.

Garnish each square with a slice of strawberry and/or kiwi.

gingery gingerbread

Makes 24 servings

Fresh ginger makes this a more deeply flavored gingerbread than the kind you might have grown up eating. It’s easy enough to grate the ginger, especially if you buy a knob that is very tight and crisp. It should have no wrinkles, and the skin should come off easily with just a little scrape of your fingernail. Peel it, and then use a microplane grater (see Get Cooking) or the fine holes of a box grater to grate it directly over the bowl, so you catch all of the liquid and solids. The brown sugar can be light or dark; both work very well. Note that you’ll need to soften the butter for at least an hour ahead of time.

½ cup (1 stick) butter, plus a little extra for the pan

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour