Lemon Cheesecake Bars

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Three delicious layers, Nilla wafer crust, lemon cheesecake center and a lemon white chocolate chip cookie top. A lemon lovers dream come true!

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

I was fortunate to receive a whole bunch of lemons from my cousin’s tree in San Diego about a week ago.  You all know how much I LOVE my lemons!

I knew they were coming, my mom and her husband spend about 6 weeks in San Diego every winter.  She stops to visit her cousin, and always brings me back lemons and avocados.  When I signed up to make a cheesecake for this fun round up called #SixteenCheesecakes, I decided I wanted to use some of my lemons!

Lemon Cheesecake Bars - An Affair from the Heart

Instead of a traditional cheesecake, I decided to make cheesecake bars.  I had found this recipe on Pinterest a while back, and knew this was what I wanted to do!

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

These cheesecake bars are so good, they should be illegal! The bottom is a crust made of Nilla Wafer cookies, the middle, a perfectly creamy lemon cheesecake, and the top? …  Well, the top is a lemon white chocolate chip cookie layer, that makes this all just pure lemon love.

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

I can’t wait any longer … let’s get on to that recipe!

Bars stacked on a white plate with text "Lemon Cheesecake Bars"
4.50 from 2 votes
Print Recipe

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Three delicious layers, vanilla wafer crust, lemon cheesecake center and a lemon white chocolate chip cookie top. A lemon lovers dream come true!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Servings: 16
Calories: 388kcal
Author: Michaela Kenkel

Ingredients

For the Crust:

Cheesecake Layer:

  • 2 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract
  • zest of one lemon

Cookie Topping:

  • 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter softened
  • 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 cup flour
  • Zest of one lemon
  • 1 11 ounce package White Chocolate morsels

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13x9 baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • To make the crust: In your food processor, pulse Vanilla Wafer cookies with sugar until fine crumbs. Add in melted butter and pulse again until combined.
  • Firmly Press crumbs into the bottom of prepared baking dish.
  • To make the cheesecake filling: Beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs, lemon extract and lemon zest using the whisk attachment of your stand mixer. Beat until light and fluffy and smooth (about 4 minutes). Pour filling over Vanilla wafer crust.
  • To make the cookie dough: Beat butter and sugar for 2 minutes. Add in egg, vanilla and lemon zest and beat once again until combined. Add in baking powder, salt and flour, mixing until incorporated. Fold in white chocolate morsels. Using your fingers, grab small portions of dough, and flatten with your fingers, placing over the top of the cheesecake layer. Continue until covered completely.
  • Bake for 30-35 minutes until top is lightly browned. The center will still be kind of jiggly. Allow to cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight). Slice and serve chilled.

Notes

Original Recipe: Shugary Sweets

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 388kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 85mg | Sodium: 178mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 35g

 What is #SixteenCheesecakes ?

Last year Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla rallied some blogging friends to help her celebrate her 15th wedding anniversary. She was only looking for fifteen cheesecake recipes. But we posted waaaaaay more than #FifteenCheesecakes.

It was such a hit and we all had so much fun that she decided to see if she could get enthusiasm for another round of cheesecakes. Yep. This is an encore performance by some of her favorite foodie bloggers.
 
 More than #SixteenCheesecakes


Similar Posts

17 Comments

  1. Please, please, please send me some yummy lemons!!!!
    This sounds absolutely fantastic and it’s going on my must make list for next week!! I do have some lemons setting on the counter that need used 😛

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.