Can you believe the 4th of July is almost here? June has been a blur and yet here we are, about midway through summer. We are ready to celebrate the 4th with some fun red, white and blue food like these cheesecake bars.
The Fourth of July has always been one of my favorite holidays. I have so many positive memories of childhood holidays spent with my grandparents, watching my grandfather shoot off fireworks from the street. (This was obviously (way) before it was illegal to do so in Illinois.)
My grandpa
My grandpa was a veteran, he smoked Camel cigarettes and watched Inspector Gadget with me. He was an amazing artist and could capture someone’s likeness with chalk so perfectly that they looked like they would jump off the paper.
He drew Native American people and always claimed he had Native American blood. Since he died, over 20 years ago now, my grandmother has become very interested in genealogy and has found no trace of Native American’s in our history.
Unlike my grandmother, who was 100% Italian with parents who immigrated from Italy, his lineage was more scattered and mixed up. However, all the pieces of him were still from immigrant countries that were responsible for building the United States in the early days of the country.
Every bit of him, of me, has come from somewhere else.
He was never rich. He was a contractor with seven children and married to my Italian grandmother, a democrat.
Those seven children had 19 grandchildren. Those 19 grandchildren, myself being the oldest, have been busy and so far have 11 great grandchildren with another two on the way.
Knowing my family history, coupled with what’s been currently happening, I’ve felt a little hesitant about my favorite holiday this year. I’ve not made my political beliefs a secret and while I try not to go into it too often here, my heart has been hurting for our country of immigrants.
Declaration of Independence
However, I’m reminded that this holiday is celebrated because it’s the date that we signed the Declaration of Independence. The holiday signals our break from what was viewed as an oppressive empire. It was a time where patriotism was celebrated, activism made a difference and political awareness was heightened.
There was a lot of passion as our young country took its first steps toward a democracy, just like there is today.
Passion means people care and people caring makes a difference. I decided that passion, caring and making a difference should be celebrated no matter what’s going on in the world.
Red, white and blue cheesecake bars
So, whether you like to celebrate with a bang or are planning to take a more low-key approach this year, these red, white and blue cheesecake bars will help you get your fill of Americana.
They taste like heaven and look like fireworks. The cheesecake bars are fairly easy to make despite the list of steps in the recipe below.
They will make your kids happy and they will make your belly happy. This year we could all use some happy.
Grab the full recipe below for the cheesecake bars and eat your happy this holiday.
P.S. Cheesecake was developed in Greece and then stolen by the Romans when they concurred the Greek Empire. Think of it as a melting pot-kind-of-dessert for a melting pot-kind-of-a-country.
Red White & Blue Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Oreo Crust Ingredients
- 40 Oreo cookies, finally crushed. You can also use Golden Oreos or Nilla Wafers
- 5 Tbsp. melted butter
Cheesecake Ingredients
- 3 8 oz packages of cream cheese, softened
- 1 3/4 cups of sugar
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup of flour
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla
- 3 eggs
- Red and blue gel food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 and crush Oreos in a food processor.
- Add the crushed cookies to a bowl and then add the melted butter. Use a spoon or your hands to mix. (I prefer my hands.). It’s fine if it’s a little crumbly.
- Line a 9x13-inche pan with tin foil and then add your crust. Pat it with your fingers and make sure it’s even and covers the bottom of the pan.
- Bake it for 10 minutes and then let it cool for 10 minutes. Once cooled, put it in the fridge for about 5 minutes.
- While the crust cooks and cools, make your batter. Combine your dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Add your vanilla and eggs one by one and fold them into the batter.
- Add in your sour cream and fold in.
- Add your cream cheese and mix on medium. I used a hand-mixer but you can use a stand mixer too.
- Mix until smooth but do not over mix. It’s ok if you still have some small lumps in the cheesecake.
- Divide the batter among three bowls and add your food coloring to the bowls.
- In your cooled crust, add spoonfuls of the batter in alternating colors.
- Take a knife and drag it through your batter so that the colors get mixed together. Do not cut into the crust. The top of the cake will look tie-dye.
- Cover the top of the cheesecake with tin foil but be sure to not let the foil touch the top of the cake.
- In the oven, arrange the racks so one is in the middle and one is towards the bottom. On the bottom rack, add a second baking dish that is filled halfway with water. This pan should be the same size or larger than your cheesecake pan. Preheat oven to 325 again.
- Once the oven is ready, add your cheesecake to the middle rack directly above the pan with the water. Cook for 60 minutes.
- Remove from oven. Your sides should be firm, and the middle should be a bit jiggly. That means it’s done. The cheesecake will continue to cook. You cannot check it with a tooth pick like a cake.
- Add it to the refrigerator for 4-6 hours to chill.
- Serve chilled. Preheat the oven to 325 and crush Oreos in a food processor.
Happy eating, friends.
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These are so great on every level. They sound delicious, and they are so cute, too. These will definitely be on my table at our 4th bash. Love it!
The marble effect is so cute! Such a yummy treat
I love these! I wish we celebrate 4th of july here! They would have been perfect!
Wow – those cheesecake squares look absolutely delicious! Makes me want to celebrate the 4th of July too!
Your cheesecake recipe is so colorful and creative. Its also wonderful to think of our grandparents on Independence Day…its a good reminder of our past to build our future.
These look absolutely delicious! I am adding these to my 4th of July menu for sure! Thanks for sharing 🙂
This looks like a fun and delicious recipe. I love cheesecake
These red, white, and blue cheesecake bars look really good! I would love to make some for the 4th of July.
Oh man, yes please! I love cheesecake, these look amazing! I won’t be home to make them for the 4th this year, but could maybe make them for another holiday or next year! Pinning this for sure!!
I absolutely love cheesecake, so these look like they would be so good. I am always looking for new desserts to try.
I love red, white and blue desserts for Patriotic holidays. These cheesecake bars look delicious and I am definitely going to try them out!
Oh my gosh – those look and sound amazing!!! I would totally make those for our family! Thanks for sharing.
What a great post! I was so expecting you to say your grandma was able to confirm your grandfather’s story. Isn’t it interés that there’s even a way to figure that all out now, for the average person?! Thanks for helping me look at the holiday a little differently this year. It’s been a hard year! The cheesecake looks delicious and absolutely beautiful.
What a fun threat! I had no idea that is how you get the swirl look on the icing. So easy to do, my kids would enjoy this!
That cheesecake recipe looks really good and its colors make it more delicious. It is such a nice way to celebrate the 4th of July having this cake on your table!
I love cheesecake! I never thought of making it so colorful. This is fun for parties!
They’re so festive, I love it. I bet they tastes great too. I’ll have to make these for the 4th. I’m sure they’ll be a huge hit.
I love Fourth of July so much. These recipes would make it even better
Oh my gosh, I need these cheesecake bars. I didn’t know that cheesecake originated in Greece. You learn something new every day.
I am drooling right now! This looks incredibly delicious, I am trying to dig for the ingredients right now at 11 pm lol!
Loved your background story about your heritage. The marble effect looks great. Hope it tasted as good as it looks lol.
I’m so with you about taking a low-key approach to the 4th of July now. With this administration, I definitely feel less enthusiastic about our country. Those delicious looking bars, though, may be the best thing about the holiday this year!
These cheesecakes bar are the perfect way to celebrate the 4th. I was looking for ideas on what to bring to my sister’s party and I think I will try to make them.
yes please! i’ll take a few of these right now.
This is such a fantastic treat for 4th of July! I’d love to give this a try!
I love these 4th of July celebration cakes, super cute and I bet they tasted just yummy x
I love how you decorated the cheesecake! Fantastic idea. Family history is an interesting thing to learn and you are so lucky you get to have details of yours. Wisconsin still lets you shoot fireworks off the street, The week of the fourth is the loudest time of the year in our neighborhood!
What a cool idea! I love the unique spin on such a classic dish to make it more patriotic, I just did a round up of cool food like that, I would love to include this one! So awesome!
Oh, this looks super yummy. I will definitely have to try this. I love trying new recipes!!
These look amazing! So cute and fun! I hope you guys will have a great time celebrating the 4th of july!
These look so tastes. My kids would eat a them up in a heartbeat.
These bars look so cute! Very festive! I’ll have to see if I can make them for our family gathering.
Oh boy these look delicious! I sure cannot wait for tomorrows picnic!
I would love to try these out. I love all kinds of cheesecake.
Um, talk about delicious! I would love to try one of these
love the story and the recipe, I’ll definitely have to try these bars, they look so yummy and it’s perfect for the 4th… thanks!
Not only do these bars look pretty, but they sound amazing! I’ll have to make these with the kids. I do love my cheesecake!
So pretty and festive! This would be the perfect treat to add to my 4th of July dessert table. Cheesecake is a favorite at my house.
Those are so cute! I love cheesecake, but never thought making a 4th of July option. I will now!
i am a huge cheesecake fan and not only do these look delicious but also so festive for the big day next week. i cant wait to make these with my kids!
Oh how fun! I think this sounds like a great way to celebrate. The colors look so pretty!
Those sure do look delicious. I may need to make these for the 4th of July. I’m sure these would be a hit with everyone.
Those look so good! I would love to make these for my family on the 4th. Perfect.
The best treat for the 4th of July! These bars look fabulous! I should make them!
I LOVE cheesecake and I think these bars sound AMAZING!! I need to try these for myself!!
This sounds so good. I need to make something like this for our fourth get together, I bet our friends would love it.
Totally festive and super cute! Will give them a try for the 4th!
Mmmmm! I love anything cheesecake! Saving this recipe for a Fourth of July party I am having.
I’m pretty obsessed with how gorgeous they are! Looks good too.
Wow, these looks so fun and festive for the holiday! I’m going to have to keep these in mind for next week!
Cheesecake is my favorite dessert and I love how you have taken it to another yummy and festive level. A must-try, for sure!
They sure look like they taste like heaven. I have a sweet tooth and those cheesecake bars are making me drool.
These cheesecake bars look and sound so delicious. I would love to make these for the fourth of july BBQ we’ll be attending!!
This is a perfect treat! Looks so delicious and fun!
This looks really delicious! My heart breaks for so many people these days, I don’t believe that many of our current policies are reflective of the ideals that our country was founded on.
This looks like a great recipe. I want to make something amazing and this looks perfect. Thanks for the recipe.
This looks delicious and perfect for July 4th party. Kids will love too. I think it will hard to finish with one bar.
These are simply perfect for the table and look delicious. Fun hearing of your heritage.
These look super but I bet they taste twice as good as they look!
How fun is this 🙂 I love the swirl!! Saving this for July
This is such a fun idea for the 4th! I was looking for something new this year.
These are delicious and so easy to make! Love portable desserts like this that we can easily take to the beach or park. Perfect for 4th of July!
These cheesecake bars are absolutely impressive! Now I definitely want to make my own batch – my family would love it.
Cheesecake is my weakness!!! These look perfect for a 4th of July celebration!!!