Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Who’s ready for a dessert recipe? I know I am. Especially, one that involves lemons and cream cheese.

On the chance you follow our blog, then you probably already know that we love cheesecakes. In fact, I believe we over seven different cheesecake inspired dessert recipes.

It’s almost as though we’re some sort of factory of cheesecakes. I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Moving on, today’s recipe is for lemon cheesecake bars.

As the description indicates, these bars are tart, tangy, and deliciously sweet. Creamy cheesecake filling, flavored with lemon juice and zest.

Each citrus flavored bite will satisfy your cravings for something sweet. Now, enough talk, let’s get cooking!

How to make Lemon Cheesecake Bars:

Before you get started, it’s important that you remove the cream cheese from your fridge to soften. If you’re in a rush, take a look at my tips for quick ways to soften cream cheese.

After that, it’s time to start the crust. Preheat your oven to 350° F. and use butter to grease an eight by eight (8×8) inch pan.

Now, grab a medium sized mixing bowl and combine the graham cracker crumbs, butter, and both the regular and brown sugars.

At this point, use a fork or spoon to mix everything together. I would not recommend using a whisk, because the metal wiring gets clogged up with wet cracker crumbs.

A fork definitely works better. Once all the ingredients are mixed, transfer them to the pan.

Use your hands or a wooden spoon to spread the mixture out evenly in the dish. Kim also suggested using a mug or ramekin to press the crust into place.

Which, is a wonderful idea. With the crust prepared, we can start on the filling.

First, using a large mixing bowl and hand mixer (or a stand mixer) combine the all of the filling ingredients. The cream cheese, eggs, sugar, lemon zest, throw it all into the bowl.

A lot of cheesecake recipes say you have to mix the cream cheese and sugar first, then add one egg at a time, etc. But, this is Berly’s Kitchen and we love simplicity.

So, just toss all of the filling components into the bowl and blend them until they’re smooth and creamy. Trust me, your lemon cheesecake bars will be fine.

Afterward, pour the tasty lemon cheesecake filling into the pan with the crust. Bake it in your preheated oven for about 20 to 25 minutes.

Remove them from the oven and let the bars sit for about an hour before placing them into the fridge. Now comes the hardest part of the recipe, waiting three more hours for the lemon cheesecake bars to chill.

Although, it’s worth wait, it’s still not easy. Well, that’s it, you lemon cheesecake bars are done. Kim and I hope you enjoy the recipe and wish you all the best 🙂

Lemon Cheesecakes Bars Recipe Tips:

• Don’t have time to wait for the cream cheese to soften, then try one of these methods. You can soften the cream cheese in your microwave using the low power setting for 1 to 3 minutes. Just be sure to check on the cream cheese every 20 seconds. Also, you can set the cream cheese on your stove while it pre-heats. Lastly, if you have a space heater handy, put the cheese on a plate in front of the heater. Set the heater on low while you prepare the crust.
• If you don’t have fresh lemons handy, then you can omit the zest and use lemon concentrate (the stuff in your fridge) or lemon extract. However, I recommend adding either option a tablespoon at a time. Make sure to taste the filling between each tablespoon. That way you don’t overdo it.
• Want to make your bars look like ours. Then grab a piping bag and some attachments. Add whipped cream to the bag and gently squeeze a little of it on each bar. Now, take a paring knife and cut little wedges out of a lemon and place it on top of the whipped cream.