Black Raspberry Cheese Bars

          While going through my husbands mothers and grandmothers recipe collections, I found a recipe for rhubarb/strawberry bars.  It was very good.  Later, somewhere, I found a recipe for Pastry Shop Cheese slices with a pineapple filling.  It was very good.  Ah, but I bet they would be much better with black raspberries. They were.  However, there were certain aspects of each recipe that we preferred, so I included those parts we preferred  to make the above recipe.
          Black raspberries have a very short shelf life.  They are almost impossible to find fresh and since I have a 40 year old patch, I don't know how hard they are to find frozen. 
          Also, my husband says I have to warn anybody who has never worked with black raspberries, that one raspberry can stain a lot of things and go a long way.
         I rarely bring home more than 2 or 3 pieces of this desert from any get together I have taken it.

Equipment:

     9 by 13 inch baking dish
     3 bowls
     2 quart pan with lid
     Liquid measuring cup
     Dry measuring cups
     Measuring spoons
     Spatula
     Wooden spoon(because my husband won't let me use metal spoons in the pan)
     Electric hand mixer
     
    

Ingredients

     Flour
     Granulated sugar
     Cornstarch
     Oatmeal
     Brown sugar
     Baking soda
     salt
     Lemon Juice
     Water
     Almond extract
     Eggs
     baking spray
     Small curd Cottage Cheese
    Cream cheese
     Butter

Raspberry Filling:

     3 1/2 to 4 cups of raspberries
     1 Tablespoon lemon juice
      1/4 cup water
     1/4 cup granulated sugar
     2 Tablespoons corn starch
     1/2 teaspoon of almond extract

     Combine raspberries, lemon juice and water in a 2 quart saucepan.  Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fruit is soft(5-8 minutes)    Combine sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl.  Stir into fruit.  This leaves the raspberries a little tart, which is how we like it so if you have a sweet tooth you might want to add a little more sugar. Remember though that all other layers have sugar in them. Continue cooking , stirring constantly, until mix comes to a boil.  Boil until thick(1 minute) .  Remove from heat and place in refrigerator to cool.

Cheese filling

     2 eggs
     3/4 cup sugar
     2 tablespoons flour
     1 teaspoon almond extract
     2 cups cottage cheese
     8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

     Combine all ingredients in medium sized bowl and mix until well combined.  Place in refrigerator to cool and set slightly

Crust

     1 1/2 cups flour
     1 1/2 cups quick oats
    1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
     3/4 cup(1 1/2 sticks) soft butter    
     1/2 teaspoon baking soda    
     1/4 teaspoon salt
   
          Combine all crust ingredients into a large bowl.  Beat at low speed until mix is crumbly.(I've been  known to mix it with my hands)
           Spray the pan with baking spray or grease and flour the bottom of the baking dish.

       

     Preheat the oven to 350 F.
      Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the crust.  Spread the rest of the crust over the bottom and slightly up the sides of the dish.      Spread the cheese filling over the  crust.  Carefully spread the Raspberry filling over the cheese layer.  Sprinkle the reserved crust over the top of the filling.  
     Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until nicely browned.