Lemons, lemons and more lemons. Their flavor is such a lovely addition to just about any recipe. Add lemon juice to sauces, marinades, salad dressings, and desserts. It is one of the most versatile and flavorful ingredients you can use in your cooking. It adds a brightness and fruity loveliness to almost everything!
These lemon cheesecake bars are a wonderful dessert that highlights the tangy flavor of lemons with just the right amount of sweetness. Using both the juice of the lemon and adding the zest ups the lemon flavor for a lovely, refreshing, bright dessert.
Using refrigerated crescent roll dough for the crust is huge timesaver and makes this an easy dessert that you can make in just a few short minutes. The next time you have a couple lemons to use up, consider making this lovely dessert. It comes together in no time!
To begin, preheat oven to 350°F.
Line a 13X9 inch baking dish with foil. Make sure it overhangs two edges of the dish. The excess foil will serve as handles to lift the cheesecake from the pan after baking it. Spray foil with a generous layer of cooking spray. Set aside.
Zest and juice two lemons.
TIP: When zesting citrus, wash and dry the fruit. Grate only the top layer of skin. Avoid grating the white pith below the top layer of skin. The pith is bitter and you don’t want to add it to your recipes.
Place filling ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Beat softened cream cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar and vanilla extract on high speed and whip until fluffy and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Unroll one of the tubes of crescent dough and place it in the bottom of the foil lined baking dish.
Add the lemon cream cheese filling mixture to the baking dish.
Use a spatula to spread it out to cover the dough in an even layer.
Unroll and top with the second tube of crescent dough.
Brush dough with melted butter.
Sprinkle with Demerara sugar crystals.
Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow cheesecake to cool for 30 minutes.
Carefully lift cheesecake from the baking dish using overhanging foil as handles. Cut cheesecake into squares and chill for at least an hour before serving.
A huge thank you to Pamela Souza LeBlanc who posted this recipe on Allrecipes.com. I made a few small changes to her original recipe and it turned out fantastic!!!
Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Equipment
- foil
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- 2 tubes refrigerated crescent dough
- 2 lemons
- 16 oz cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 4 tbsp Demerara sugar crystals
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line a 13X9 inch baking dish with foil. Make sure it overhangs two edges of the dish. The excess foil will serve as handles to lift the cheesecake from the pan after baking.
- Spray foil with a generous layer of cooking spray. Set aside.
- Zest and juice two lemons.
- Place softened cream cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl.
- Beat on high speed and whip until fluffy and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Unroll one of the tubes of crescent dough and place it in the bottom of the foil lined baking dish.
- Add lemon cream cheese mixture to the baking dish.
- Use a spatula to spread it out to cover the dough.
- Top with the second tube of crescent dough.
- Brush dough with melted butter.
- Sprinkle with Demerara sugar crystals.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Allow cheesecake to cool for 30 minutes.
- Carefully lift cheesecake from the baking dish using the overhanging foil as handles.
- Cut cheesecake into squares and chill for at least an hour before serving.
Did You Make This?
Snap a pic and hashtag it #naturewayblog — I love to see your creations! Don’t forget to comment and leave a review, or tag me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter!
May I ask a small favor? If you enjoyed this blogpost would you be so kind and like the page? It lets me know what you are enjoying the most. It also helps me focus my attention on creating content that will be most meaningful and beneficial for you, my readers. And don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss out on all the latest that’s happening here at Nature Way. Thank you!
