classic lemon bars

Cream Cheese Lemon Bars are the dessert you never knew you needed, but bake them once, and you&#039;ll never go without them again. Sweet, cream cheesy, lemony, buttery, and so easy! 

Cream Cheese Lemon Bars

all-purpose flour

sugar

salt

(2 sticks) butter

cream cheese (softened)

flour

lemon juice

eggs

vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9x13 inch pan with foil or parchment with plenty of overhang around the edges to lift the bars out of the pan before cutting.

Prepare the crust by combining flour, sugar, salt, and butter cubes in a food processor or blender. Cover and pulse until fine crumbs form. (You can also do this with a pastry cutter, fork, or with your fingers in a large bowl.)

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

Prepare the filling by combining cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl. Cream together until smooth. Mix in flour, powdered sugar, lemon juice, eggs, and vanilla until completely incorporated.

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

Allow to cool for about 20 minutes, then cover and transfer chill in the fridge 4 hours or overnight. Lift the foil edges to remove the bars from the pan, slice into squares, sprinkle with additional powdered sugar, and serve.

A tropical twist on classic lemon bars, with a coconut-almond crust and a sprinkle of toasty coconut on top.

Coconut Lemon Bars

c all-purpose flour

c almond flour ((or finely ground blanched almonds))

c sugar

tsp salt

c shredded coconut

T butter,

lemon

c + 2 1/2 T lemon juice ((preferably fresh-squeezed))

tsp all-purpose flour

tsp baking powder

c shredded coconut, (for topping)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Spray an 8x8 square baking pan with nonstick baking spray, and line it with parchment paper so it hangs over the edge on two sides. (It&#39;s like a little hammock you&#39;ll bake your bars in so it&#39;s easy to get them out of the pan.) Spray parchment with nonstick baking spray.

Combine all the dry ingredients (including coconut) in a mixing bowl. Using a pastry cutter, Kitchen Aid mixer (with a paddle attachment), or a food processor, blend in cold butter until it is in pea-sized pieces.

Press firmly into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 20 minutes.

Make the Crust

Using your fingers, rub the lemon zest into the sugar. Then add the remaining filling ingredients (except for the coconut) and whisk together. Pour into the hot crust, and bake for another 10 minutes.

Sprinkle coconut on top, then bake again for 10 more minutes or until set.

Let bars cool completely, then refrigerate overnight. Cut into 12-16 bars and enjoy!

Make the Filling

Ohmigosh are these great!   I suggested them as a birthday treat for my lemon bar-loving son - we both loved them!   Highly recommend and now the 22 year-old has these in his baking toolkit, too.

Very delicious and my peeps loved them.
Peeps approved.  ❤request to be making for food bar at mother daughter tea.  Nice and 🍋 lemony.

Top 2 classic lemon bars recipes from across the web

The most viewed classic lemon bars recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Cream Cheese Lemon Bars

Coconut Lemon Bars

Top 2 classic lemon bars recipes from across the web

The most viewed classic lemon bars recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Cream Cheese Lemon Bars

Coconut Lemon Bars

The most viewed classic lemon bars recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine