Lemon bars are a popular dessert, and cheesecakes are hugely popular, so mashing them up to make lemon cheesecake bars is a simple stroke of genius. They’re a winner whether you’re a cheesecake fan who loves the light, fresh taste of lemon, or a lemon bar fan who wants a richer alternative (in which case you might think of them as “cheesecake lemon bars”).
They’re quick to prepare (just 15 minutes of prep time), and they’re suitable for making ahead of time when you expect company. You can even freeze them, so you have dessert available on short notice whenever it’s needed.
Ingredients for Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Crust:
- Shortening: This recipe makes a sturdy, cookie-like crust instead of the usual graham crumb crust. Shortening is one of the crucial ingredients that helps create the cookie-like texture.
- Brown sugar: Brown sugar retains some of the molasses that’s refined out of white sugar, so using it in the crust helps create a butterscotch-y, cookie-like flavor to complement the lemon filling.
- All-purpose flour: Flour helps give the crust its sturdy, cookie-like texture.
- Rolled oats: The oats in this recipe provide the crust with added texture, increasing the resemblance to a cookie, but they also give it a bit of welcome crumbliness. They add a bit of fiber too, which makes the dessert healthier.
- Raspberry jam: The raspberry jam provides a tart-sweet flavor that complements the lemon filling beautifully. It also helps keep the cheesecake filling from soaking into the pre-baked crust and making it soggy.
Filling:
- Cream cheese: Other cultures use other cheeses, including quark or ricotta, but American-style cream cheese gives a cheesecake filling a uniquely smooth mouthfeel.
- Granulated sugar: Plain white granulated sugar sweetens the filling without adding a distinctive flavor of its own to interfere with your enjoyment of the clean lemon taste.
- All-purpose flour: Flour helps thicken the cheesecake filling.
- Lemon juice: The bright, tart lemon juice gives the cheesecake filling its signature fresh flavor, balancing the sweetness of the sugar and the richness of the cream cheese.
- Lemon zest: Adding lemon zest to the filling complements the lemon juice and brings a brighter, more intense lemon flavor.
- Eggs: Eggs are almost as important in a cheesecake as the cream cheese. They add richness, but more important, the protein in the egg whites is what makes the filling set.
Directions
Step 1: Prepare the crust
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, cream the shortening and brown sugar together until they’re very light and fluffy, five to seven minutes. In a separate bowl, stir the flour, oats and salt together, then slowly add them to the creamed sugar mixture and mix well.
Editor’s Tip: If you have a stand mixer, it’s a more convenient option than holding your hand mixer for up to seven minutes as you cream the fat and sugar.
Step 2: Bake the crust
Press the finished dough into a greased 13×9-inch baking dish. Bake the crust for 15 to 18 minutes, until it’s golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven, and spread the crust with the raspberry jam.
Step 3: Prepare the cheesecake filling
While the crust bakes, beat the softened cream cheese, sugar and flour together into a smooth mixture. Beat the lemon juice and zest into the mixture, then add the softly beaten eggs, beating the filling over low speed until the eggs are just incorporated. Carefully spoon the filling over the jam, to fill the pan.
Step 4: Bake the lemon cheesecake bars
Bake the lemon cheesecake bars, still at 350°, for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the center is almost set but still slightly jiggly when you shake the pan. Remove the pan from the oven and cool it completely on a wire rack. Cover the pan, and refrigerate it until you’re ready to serve the bars.
Lemon Cheesecake Bar Variations
- Swap lemon for lime or orange: This is an easy variation, and a quick way to change the flavor of your dessert. Just replace the lemon juice and zest with lime or orange juice and zest, using exactly the same quantities. In the case of an orange cheesecake bar, you could even double down on the orange flavor by using marmalade in place of the jam (lime marmalade is harder to find, but it would be a good addition to the lime version).
- Use the crust you know: The unusual crust called for in this recipe is very good, and it’s well worth trying at least the first time you make the recipe. That being said, if you love the crumb crust that’s usually used with cheesecakes, or if you have a shortbread crust that you like to use in your bar recipes, by all means use those instead.
- Add a meringue topping: If you love lemon meringue pie, or lemon bars with a meringue topping, don’t be shy: Add a meringue topping to this recipe as well. The meringue in this lemon bars recipe is already sized for a 13×9-inch pan, so use that for guidance, if necessary.
How to Store Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Once your pan of cheesecake lemon bars has cooled to room temperature, cover it and transfer it to your fridge. If you don’t eat all the bars the first time you serve them, you can either leave the uneaten portion in the original pan or save space by transferring the remaining bars to one or more food-safe storage containers with tight-fitting lids.
How long will lemon cheesecake bars keep?
Your finished cheesecake bars will keep for four or five days in the refrigerator, if you have the willpower to not nibble at them constantly.
Can I make lemon cheesecake bars ahead of time?
This lemon cheesecake bar recipe is a great option when you’re hosting a gathering or suspect company might drop in. You can make them a day or two in advance and still have a couple of days left to keep any leftovers in your fridge.
Can I freeze lemon cheesecake bars?
These cheesecake bars freeze well, which isn’t something you can typically say for plain lemon bars. The cream cheese helps stabilize the filling, so it doesn’t “weep” or break when it thaws. You may find it to be slightly moister than it was before freezing, but that’s not a deal-breaker. It’s best to freeze them in a single layer in their pan or a freezer-safe storage container, and then to thaw them overnight in the fridge. If you’re in a hurry you can thaw them at room temperature, though some condensation may form on top of the bars. If so, just blot it up with a paper towel.
Lemon Cheesecake Bar Tips
I like the unusual crust. How could I upgrade it?
You can’t go wrong by tweaking it with your choice of nuts. Toast 1/2 cup almonds, beacons, hazelnuts or walnuts, crush them finely, then add them to the crust. If you make the lime variation of the bars, crushed pistachios will give the bars an intriguingly complementary flavor and add appropriate hints of green to the crust.
How can I double down on the lemon flavor?
If you’re really fond of lemon, consider making the filling from our lemon supreme pie recipe instead of the one from this recipe. You’ll need to make a double batch to fill a 13×9-inch pan. Alternatively, you could make the recipe as written but spread the top of the bars with lemon curd once they’re set. Folding lemon curd into whipped cream, and then piping it on top of each bar in a rosette or big swirl, makes them pretty enough for company while also adding lemon flavor (you can just spoon it on, if you don’t have a pastry bag, but it won’t be as visually appealing).
How can I cut these lemon cheesecake bars neatly?
It’s the nature of a cheesecake filling to be a little bit sticky. For neat, clean cuts, fill a deep mug or tall glass with hot tap water. Dip the knife into the hot water for a few moments before each cut, and then wipe it clean afterward. The filling won’t stick as badly to a warmed knife, and cleaning it before each cut also helps a lot.
What’s a good size to cut the lemon cheesecake bars?
It depends how large a bite you like. In a 13×9-inch pan, cutting them lengthwise into four strips, then cutting nine times crosswise (divide the pan into thirds, then divide the thirds into thirds), will give you three dozen smaller bars that are just over 2 inches in each direction.
To get the 20 servings promised by the recipe, cut them into four lengthwise strips and then cut crosswise five times. The bars will be roughly 2×2-1/2 inches. The larger size is good when you’re just serving your family, but the smaller is good for parties if you’ll be setting out dessert trays.
