Lemon Cream Cheese Bars

 

Lemon Cream Cheese Bars are the dessert you never knew you needed, but bake it once, and you'll never go without it again. Sweet, creamy cheesy, lemony, buttery, and so easy!

For more quick desserts, try my recipes for Apple Slab Pie, Salted Caramel Pie Pie Bars, and Cream Cheese Lemon Crumb Cake.

Confession: I'm a fan of lemonade. Cheesecake lovers. So it makes sense to put these two flavors together into one easy dessert, right?

Spring has come and with it my mindset has changed somewhat in terms of the flavors and foods I'm in the mood for. Even if the days are a bit cold and it's not yet time to start gardening, I still think about cooking outside, picnics, food parties, and those days when friends stop by for a bit and end up staying for dinner. These are the best days, right?

* Ingredients :

* for the crust

° 2 cups all-purpose flour

° Half a cup of granulated sugar

° Half a teaspoon of salt

° 1 cup (2 sticks) butter - chilled and cut into small cubes

* to fill

° 8 ounces cream cheese - soft

° 2 cups granulated sugar

° ¼ cup flour

° Half cups of fresh lemon juice

° ½ cup icing sugar - plus more for garnish

° 6 large eggs

° 1 teaspoon vanilla

* Instructions :

Preheaat oven to 350 degrees & line a 9-by-13-inch tray with parchment or parchment paper with plenty of protrusion around the edges to lift the bars from the pan before slicing.

Prepare the crust by blending the flour, sugar, salt and butter cubes in a food processor or stand mixer. Cover and beat until soft crumbs form. 

Press the crust into the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes while preparing the filling.

Prepare the filling by mixing the cheese and sugar in a large bowl. Cream together until smooth. Mix the flour, icing sugar, lemon juice, eggs, and vanilla until completely combined.

Pour the filling over the crust and return to the oven for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool for 20 minutes, then cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Lift edges of tin to remove bars from pan, cut into squares, sprinkle with extra powdered sugar, and serve.

Enjoy !