Lemon Cream Cheese Bars are tangy, sweet, soft, chewy, and perfectly delicious. These tasty treats are always a crowd pleaser!
Lemon Cream Cheese Bars
Lemon Cream Cheese Bars are a true family favorite. My mom made these for years when we were growing up and we all loved them. The luscious, creamy bar cookies took center stage at every family reunion, every picnic, and every weekend lake trip and they were always the first thing to be devoured. I like them more than a traditional lemon bar recipe because they’re much creamier and more like cheesecake. The buttery crust and crumble on top complement the light, fluffy lemony filling too. They’re so yummy; you will absolutely love this recipe.
Tips for the Perfect Lemon Cream Cheese Bars
- These bars taste delicious cold. When we were little, our mom would pack them in a cooler and bring them to the lake. I also love them right out of the refrigerator. They are a bit more chewy when they’re cold, which I love!
- You can get fancy and top these with raspberries or strawberries too. So delicious!
- Store Lemon Cream Cheese Bars covered in the refrigerator for up to five days. Serve at room temperature by allowing them to rest on the counter for about thirty minutes.
- When mixing the filling, make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature! Cream cheese at room temperature mixes up light and fluffy with absolutely no lumps.
More Favorite Bar Recipes
Love this Lemon Cream Cheese Bars recipe? Here are a few of our most favorite bar cookie recipes.
- Oatmeal Raspberry Crumb Bars: Soft and chewy oatmeal bars with a raspberry filling. What’s not to love?
- Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars: Like eating a caramel apple.. but better!
- Caribbean Coconut Fudge Bars: Pretty much HEAVEN in bar form. This is a recipe that was inspired by an actual dessert in the Caribbean.
- Coconut Lime Cheesecake Bars: Another one of our most popular “bar” recipes. Like a cross between key lime pie and coconut cream pie– in bar form. Trust me, they taste as good as they sound!
- Lemon Square Bars: A more traditional lemon bar recipe. Tart, tangy, oh so yummy!
How to Make Lemon Cream Cheese Bars
Ingredients
- 1 lemon cake mix
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 egg
- 1 cup sugar
Instructions
- Combine dry cake mix, vegetable oil, and 1 egg until crumbly.
- Reserve one cup of crumble mixture and set aside.
- Spread remainder of crumbs in a 9x13 pan and pat down to form a crust.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until crust is lightly golden brown.
- Place remaining ingredients in a bowl; whip until fluffy and light. Spread over baked crumb mixture and crumble the reserved cup of crumbs over the top.
- Return to oven and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Cool and cut. Delicious!
Equipment
- Conventional Oven
- 9 X 13 inch Pan
Fisher Family says
Okay Erica, I just made these tonight and they are SO GOOD! Tell your mom a big ‘thank you’ from the Fishers 🙂 We’re also having the fish tacos for dinner. I can’t wait! Lindsey
Denise says
I made these for a get together last night and they were scarfed down fast!! Very easy and yummy! Thanks or sharing!!
Chalece says
Just made these, they were a huge hit! So easy and yummy! I love that they are not super rich, so we could eat alot. 🙂
Amanda says
Oh my god!!! These are awesome, they taste great, are easy and quick and my whole family love them. It is just like eating a cheese cake. YUMMO!!!
Alessi says
Just made these this evening! I did it with a square pan so that I could use less crumbs for a packed down crust, and more crumbs scattered on top! LOVED them!
Jenn says
This are amazing! Made some for Thanksgiving and they were devoured. My Aunt even called asking me to make some for gifts!! Storage question: do these need to be refrigerated or can they sit out at room temperature? Wasn’t sure given the cream cheese. THANKS!
Erica says
You should probably refrigerate them but we have left them out without any problems.
Cherilyn says
These look amazing! Could you tell me roughly how many this batch yields? (newbie at baking, even with simple recipes I need help! lol)
Emily says
We usually cut a pan into 12 slices, but you can definitely cut smaller slices and make it go further.
Cherilyn says
Thanks!
Sally says
These are absolutley to die for, yummy, yummy!!!
Thanks for sharing!!!! :)-
APRIL says
Sunshine, is it one egg or two? It says one egg twice… 🙂
Emily says
There are 2 eggs, but you use one for the crust, and one for the filling.
Elizabeth Piscitelli says
do I use one egg or two?
Megan shaw says
Amazing! I made these today and we loved them! I am a big fan of lemon and these are much better than any lemon bar. So easy and so tasty. I will make these again for sure!
Rachael says
If I had no access to “cake mix” would I just mix together flour, sugar, b. powder and b. soda with salt possibly also lemon juice for the “cake mix”. Maybe dumb ? but I live outside the USA and often have to subsitute things for what is readily availible in uSA.
Emily says
I found this site that seemed to have a good recipe for substituting a yellow cake mix: http://chickensintheroad.com/cooking/homemade-yellow-cake-mix/
Rachael says
Thank you! I am excited to try this recipe out!
Megan says
I have made these 3 times since finding this recipe a few months ago….these are incredible! I love the lemon taste with the cream cheese. Most lemon bars I don’t care for the jelly-like filling, I think that’s why I love these. Plus they are super easy. Wondering…have you ever doubled this recipe and done it in a cookie sheet? Thanks for sharing a winner! One of my favorite desserts!
Erica says
Yes– my mom did it that way just last week for girls camp and she said it worked out just fine! She uses one cake mix for the main part and one cake mix for the crumble.. it’s easier to divide that way.
Teresa says
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was yummy!! Everyone who tried it raved about it. It is also a very forgiving recipe, because I misread the instructions to back the crust for 10 minutes and then again for 25 minutes with the filling and crumbs on top. I baked the crust for 25 minutes as well as the rest. And you know what? It was a nice crunchy bottom, but not burned at all – just perfect!
Erica says
Whew, disaster averted! Glad to hear it still turned out well!
Yvette says
I made a dish of these last night!!! AMAZING!!!!!!! I cut them small, into 26 squares. Making more today!!!! Such a quick and easy recipe.
Echo says
I love this recipe too – especially in the spring and summer. Thank you for sharing!
Anetta says
thanks for all you put up so nice and easy
sally says
Just made these soo easy and soo good! Tickled them up with lemon zest in the crumbs
linda soderberg says
makin these tonight
Barb says
Can I use a 8×8 pan instead so that they would be thicker?
Erica says
It would definitely be thicker and you would want to cook it longer and maybe at a lower temp. I don’t know exactly how to advise because I haven’t done it that way before. Let us know how it turns out!
chris says
Awesome
Mary Muellet says
These sound wonderful
I want to make these for a party in June. Cam I make these now and freeze? Party is 3 weeks away.
Erica says
I don’t know how well cream cheese freezes. You might be ok, but I probably wouldn’t do it :/
Joy Parker says
These sound delicious. I would like to know the nutritional information first. My husband is diabetic and this would be very helpful for us. Thanks
Erica says
At this time we are unable to provide nutritional information but you can plug the recipe in a nutritional calculator like livestrong.com and you will be able to find the nutritional info!
Mary Ann Smith says
Made these for a company bake sale. They sold them out first. Lol. Making again today for me and my team as a pick my up for a rough few days! Thank you!
I do add lemon zest to the filling and the base for extra lemon flavor. Don’t want to waste lemon!
Erica says
Woohoo! It is always nice to be the “hot” item at bake sales haha. So glad that you (and your company) like them!
Linda says
I made these for a pot luck party I attended and they were an epic fail for me. They tasted okay but I didn’t feel they cooked up properly – just too gooey for my liking. Once I saw how gooey they were, I did cook longer than the recipe called for. I won’t be making these again but wish others the best of luck with them!
Mayda says
I’ve made this recipe for years. It’s always wonderful. Always requested. Try them…you’ll love them!!
Ruth says
Could I make these two and a half days prior to serving?
What about one and a half days?
Will the quality suffer a lot?
Refrigerate or not?
Favorite Family Recipes says
Yes, you can make them ahead and keep them covered with plastic wrap in the fridge for a few days. The quality and taste will not suffer. Thanks for asking!
Mary says
Very easy to make and are delicious!
Emily Walker says
Thank you so much!!
Sandy says
So easy and so yummy thank you for sharing , took to potluck and I received many compliments !!