- 9 whole graham crackers
- 1/3 cup chopped unsalted pistachios
- 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
Filling
- 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3/4 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup pistachio butter
Topping
- 2 1/2 cups frozen blackberries
- 2/3 cup white sugar, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons chopped unsalted pistachios, for garnish (optional)
Directions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Line an 8×8-inch square pan with enough parchment paper to have overhang on all sides.
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For crust, place graham crackers in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times until crackers are finely ground. Add in pistachios, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and pulse a few times to combine. Pour in melted butter and pulse again until mixture is evenly moistened. Pour crumb mixture into the prepared pan and press firmly and evenly into the bottom of the pan.
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Bake crust in the preheated oven until golden on the edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside to cool; leave oven on.
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For filling, beat together cream cheese, white sugar, cornstarch, salt, and nutmeg together in a bowl with an electric mixer until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla, almond extract, and lemon juice until combined. Add heavy cream and mix until smooth. Add egg, and beat on low speed until just incorporated.
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Scoop out 1 1/4 cups cream cheese filling to a separate bowl; add pistachio butter and beat until combined. Pour pistachio filling over crust and smooth into an even layer. Carefully dollop remaining cream cheese filling over pistachio layer, and gently spread to cover evenly.
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Bake bars until edges are set but the middle still has a slight jiggle to it, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely to room temperature, about 1 hour.
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Meanwhile, for topping, place frozen blackberries and white sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat; cook. stirring often, until berries have released their juices and broken down a bit, about 10 minutes. Stir in lemon zest.
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In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch with lemon juice until combined. Gradually pour cornstarch mixture into blackberries, stirring constantly. Continue to cook until blackberry mixture thickens, 1 to 3 minutes more. Remove from heat; let cool completely to room temperature, about 1 hour.
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Once bars and blackberry topping have cooled, pour blackberry topping over the bars and spread into an even layer. Place bars into the fridge until completely chilled, at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
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When ready to serve, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of chopped pistachios over the bars. Carefully lift bars out of the pan using the parchment overhang, and gently peel parchment away from the edges of the bars. Run a sharp knife under hot water, then dry it off on a kitchen towel. Cut into 16 bars, wiping the knife clean after each cut. Keep extra bars stored in the refrigerator.
