Pomegranate Pistachio Cheesecake Bars - Yay! For Food

Ingredients

• 1 cup (around 14 crackers) ground honey graham crackers, crushed
• ½ cup (70 g) pistachios*, de-shelled and crushed into small pieces
• ¼ cup sugar
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• Pinch of salt
• 2 packages (8 oz each) plain cream cheese, room temperature
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup sugar
• 3 cups pomegranate juice
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 2 ½ tbsp cornstarch
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup pistachios, crushed into small pieces
• ½ cup pomegranate arils