Raspberry Cream Cheese Bars

Ahhhh....sigh. I just came home from ten glorious days of visiting my family in Utah with my tiny son, which equates to never cooking, never cleaning, frequent swimming, even more frequent eating and plenty of visiting and playing with my oodles of family members. They are divine. It really was quite the glorious week. Naturally, on the day before I left, my sweet Grandmother Ruth made me a special Sunday dinner in which I got to choose the menu. She made my old favorites - chicken pillows with homemade cheese sauce, buttered carrots, roast potatoes, her special rolls...but I won't bore you with those delicious details. To top it off, we were treated with these blissful raspberry cream cheese bars.

Raspberry cream cheese bars. Where to start?

• They are served cold, which is quite refreshing in these hot summer months.
• They have raspberries.
• They have cream cheese.
• Even though the recipe didn't call for it, Grandma topped them off with fresh whipped cream, because...well, it's whipped cream.
• I was in Heaven. And you will be too.

Even if you aren't able to finish off a ten day vacation with these bars, I will tell you what - they still make a great finisher. They would be a great way to finish off your own Sunday dinner or a Fourth of July BBQ. You could even mix some blueberries in there and get your patriotism on. So many options. So much delectible fun.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Bars

1 package Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix

1 square butter, softened

2-8oz. cream cheese, softened

2 TBLS flour

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 can raspberry pie filling

Fresh raspberries, for topping

Whipped cream, for topping

1. Turn oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13 pan.

2. Cut the butter into the sugar cookie mix with hands until resembles a crumble. Set aside 1 cup. Press the rest of the crumble into pan and pat down. Bake for 5-6 minutes.

3. Combine cream cheese, sugar, flour, egg and vanilla in a bowl. Pour on top of cooled crust.

4. Pour raspberry pie filling over cream cheese. Sprinkle with remaining crumble. Bake 25-35 minutes or until appears golden.

5. Let cool; refrigerate if desired.

6. When ready to serve, top with fresh berries and whipping cream.

Recipe source - adapted by Ruth Clark via ldsliving.com