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Lemon Cream Cheese Bars are tangy, sweet, soft, chewy, and perfectly delicious. These tasty treats are always a crowd pleaser!
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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 traditional lemon bars because they’re much creamier and more like cheesecake. The buttery crust layer and crumble on top complement the light, fluffy lemony cream cheese mixture. They’re so yummy; you will absolutely love this recipe.
Ingredients in these Lemon Cheesecake Bars
All you need for luscious, rich lemon cream cheese bars is six ingredients! This dessert comes together really fast. Here’s all you need:
- Lemon cake mix – you can always find lemon cake mixes in the baking aisle of your grocery store. This little shortcut gives you all the flour, salt, baking soda, and other baking ingredients right in one cake mix and gives the recipe a delicious shortbread crust.
- Vegetable oil – you could try other types of oil, or melted butter but regular vegetable oil helps give this the perfect consistency.
- Eggs – you’ll need one for the cakelayer and another for the cream cheese layer.
- Cream cheese – make sure it’s room temperature before you start to whip together your ingredients for a smooth, light texture that makes a creamy cheesecake filling.
- Lemon juice – use lemon juice from a bottle, or you can use a sharp knife to cut a fresh lemon in half and squeeze fresh lemon. Then save a little of the lemon zest to sprinkle in for an extra zingy lemon flavor.
- Sugar – regular white sugar works great.
Benefits of Lemon
Cooking and baking with lemons is not just delicious; there are so many health benefits too! Lemons are high in vitamin C, fiber and is known to control cholesterol and improve overall health. Of course this is a rich dessert, but everything in moderation, right?
Tips for the Perfect Lemon Cream Cheese Bars
- These bars taste delicious cold. When we were little, our mom would pack these cream cheese squares in a cooler and bring them to the lake. I also love them right out of the refrigerator or freezer. They are a bit more chewy when they’re cold, which I love!
- Make sure to grease your baking pan by spraying a light layer of cooking spray or a sheet of parchment paper.
- Then, to the bottom of the prepared baking dish, gently press the crust into a nice, even layer. Sometimes I find that using my fingers is the best way to get it even.
- Pour in the cream cheese filling, then top with the rest of the crust in crumbles.
- You can get fancy and top these with blueberries, raspberries or strawberries too. So delicious!
- 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. Use an electric mixer at low to medium speed, then whip at high speed until it’s fluffy and creamy.
How to Store Lemon Dessert
- 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.
- You can also freeze cream cheese desserts. Chill in the fridge until they’re firm, then layer using parchment paper into an airtight container. Keep them in the freezer for up to two months.
- If you love a graham cracker crust, you can add some graham cracker crumbs to the cake mix or sprinkle some on top for extra texture and flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
If your lemon squares have cracked you may not have baked the crust long enough. This can cause the filling to lose moisture and absorb into the crust.
To avoid these lemon cream cheese bars from being underbaked, make sure you allow them to set completely when you take them out of the oven. You know when lemon bars are done when you move the pan a bit and they don’t jiggle.
Anything made with cream cheese should be refrigerated within two hours, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) This includes baked goods made with cream cheese, such as pound cakes and cream cheese cookies.
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How to Make Lemon Cream Cheese Bars
Lemon Cream Cheese Bars
Equipment
- Conventional Oven
- 9 X 13 inch Pan
Ingredients
- 1 box lemon cake mix
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 large 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 9×13 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 nice and smooth, covering the whole pan.
- Add the crumble from the reserved cup of crumbs over the top.
- Return to oven and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool and cut. Delicious!
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Notes
- 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.
- You can also freeze cream cheese desserts. Chill in the fridge until they’re firm, then layer using parchment paper into an airtight container. Keep them in the freezer for up to two months.
Easy to make and simply delicious cookie bars anytime!!
So glad you liked it!
Oh my gosh these bars were so delicious. The lemon flavor was so tart and sweet. We loved him!
These Lemon Bars did not last long at our house! They were AMAZING!! I will be making these again and again! Thank you!
So easy and so yummy thank you for sharing , took to potluck and I received many compliments !!
Can you add a glaze to the top of these lemon bars
We haven’t tried putting a glaze on top – but I bet it would be delicious!
I’m making them tonight and trying a glaze 🤤 😋 hoping it turns out great!
Very easy to make and are delicious!
Thank you so much!!
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?
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!
I’ve made this recipe for years. It’s always wonderful. Always requested. Try them…you’ll love them!!
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!
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!
Woohoo! It is always nice to be the “hot” item at bake sales haha. So glad that you (and your company) like them!
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
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!