Lemon bars meet cheesecake in this heavenly dessert. Lemon Cheesecake Bars have a vanilla wafer crust layered with lemon cookie dough and cheesecake filling. You won’t be able to eat just one!
If you like lemon desserts as much as I do, make sure to try my classic Lemon Cheesecake Recipe. These Lemon Crunch Cookies are always delicious too!
Why this Recipe Works
Can’t decide between No Bake Lemon Cheesecake and Lemon Bars? Lemon Cheesecake Cookie Bars combine the best of all worlds!
- This recipe starts with a simple crust made from Nilla wafers.
- The cheesecake filling is creamy, sweet and easy to make.
- The lemon cookie layer is full of white chocolate chips to add even more sweetness and texture.
Everyone is impressed by these lemon cheesecake bars!
If you love layered cheesecake bars I’ve got some other fun flavors too, like these Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars and of course traditional Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars! Our peanut butter cheesecake bars are perfect for the peanut butter lover!
Ingredient Notes
- Lemon extract. This is the secret to amazing, bright lemon flavor without having to squeeze a ton of lemons. Use pure lemon extract (not artificial flavoring) for best results.
- Lemon zest. The zest is the yellow part of a lemon’s rind. Remove it from the lemon with a zesting tool or microplane grater. Use our guide on how to zest a lemon for best tips and tricks.
- Cream Cheese. Use full fat and make sure it’s softened before blending into cheesecake filling.
- Nilla wafers. If you can’t get these where you live, you can use any vanilla wafer style cookie to make the crust instead, or use our graham cracker crust recipe.
Easy Instructions
For the crust:
Pulverize the wafer cookies in your food processor with sugar. When the cookies have become fine crumbs, add melted butter and combine.
Press the cookie crust into the bottom of a baking dish.
For the cheesecake filling:
Use the whisk attachment to beat all filling ingredients together in a stand mixer. Pour it over the cookie crust.
For the lemon cookie dough:
Beat butter and sugar together until well combined. Add in eggs, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Then add the dry ingredients and beat until blended.
Scoop the dough on top of the cheesecake layer. Use your hands to spread the dough out so it’s fully covering the cheesecake.
Bake the bars until the tops are lightly browned. Refrigerate for at least four hours and serve cold!
Tips and Tricks
- Do not overbake. The center of the Lemon Cheesecake Bars will be a little jiggly when you take them out of the oven. It’ll continue firming up as it cools.
- Store in the refrigerator. These taste best when they’ve had several hours to get nice and cold. I like to make them the day before and let them chill overnight.
- Line your pan. Place a sheet of parchment paper in the bottom of your baking dish. It prevents the bars from getting stuck and makes clean up easier!
- Cutting bars. Use a clean sharp knife to cut these. Between cuts, wipe the knife with a paper towel.
- Freezing. For perfect edges, you can even freeze the bars and cut them while they’re still frozen. Let them thaw in the fridge before serving.
Recipe FAQs
No, lemon juice won’t work the same way here. You would have to add a lot of juice to get the same lemon flavor as a tiny bit of extract, which would add too much liquid to the recipe.
If your filling is still to soft to cut, the bars likely need a bit more time to chill. Try leaving them in the refrigerator longer or placing them in the freezer.
You sure can! I have made it with a graham cracker crust in the past and it was delicious. Lemon Oreo Cookies would be another great choice.
More Easy Desserts
- Lemon Poke Cake
- Lemon Biscotti
- Coconut Lemon Cake
- Lemon Lush
- No Bake Cheesecake bars
- Lemon Cake Bars
- Lemon Bundt cake
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Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 2 cups Nilla Wafers crumbs (about 60 cookies)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
For the Cheesecake Filling:
- 2 packages cream cheese, softened 8 ounce each
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 lemon zested
For the Cookie layer:
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 lemon zested
- 11 ounce white chocolate morsels I use Ghirardelli
Instructions
- Line a 13×9 baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a food processor, pulse Nilla Wafer cookies with sugar until fine crumbs. Add in melted butter and pulse until combined.
- Press crumbs into the bottom of prepared baking dish. Using the palm of your hand, press crumbs firmly until they are pressed into the bottom of the dish.
- For the filling, beat cream cheese with sugar, eggs, lemon extract and lemon zest using the whisk attachment of your electric mixer. Beat until fluffy and smooth (about 3-4 minutes). Pour over cookie crust.
- For the cookie dough, beat butter and sugar for 2 minutes. Add egg, vanilla and lemon zest and beat until combined. Add in baking powder, salt and flour, beating until fully blended. Fold in white chocolate morsels. Scoop dough by large spoonfuls onto the top of the cheesecake layer. Use your fingertips to spread gently until covered.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until lightly browned. The center will still be jiggly, that’s okay. Allow to cool completely. Refrigerate for 4 hours (or overnight). Slice and serve COLD. Enjoy!
Notes
- Do not overbake. The center of the Lemon Cheesecake Bars will be a little jiggly when you take them out of the oven. It’ll continue firming up as it cools.
- Store in the refrigerator. These taste best when they’ve had several hours to get nice and cold. I like to make them the day before and let them chill overnight.
- Line your pan. Place a sheet of parchment paper in the bottom of your baking dish. It prevents the bars from getting stuck and makes clean up easier!
- Cutting bars. Use a clean sharp knife to cut these. Between cuts, wipe the knife with a paper towel.
- Freezing. For perfect edges, you can even freeze the bars and cut them while they’re still frozen. Let them thaw in the fridge before serving.
Video
Nutrition
Cold, creamy and sweet Lemon Cheesecake Bars make everyone happy!
This was delicious! I reduced the sugar in the cookie topping and used scant measurements elsewhere and it was perfect – even when served to various, older Asian family friends. I also used 2 TBSP instead of lemon juice instead of lemon extract and the flavors came out well. Thank you for the recipe!
These are AMAZING! And let me tell you, I make a lot of treats, and Shugary Sweets has become my go-to for new ideas! Amy, I almost always use your recipes with no changes needed. Yum! I read a lot of comments before making these, however, because I was leery of using lemon extract. Many asked if fresh lemon juice can be used. I used about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in place of the extract and I also reduced the sugar to 1 cup in the cookie topping. (That was plenty sweet enough for me (and I am a sweet tooth for sure.) I’ve been making treats to share with friends and family during this COVID time and these will be delivered this weekend. 😊 Thank you for yet another FABULOUS recipe!!!
Awww love to hear it. These are truly one of my favorites 🙂
Can you substitute lemon juice in place of the extract? If so, how much lemon juice should I use?
I made your coconut cake yesterday it was amazing!!! Excited to make these my husband loves lemon
One of my favorites 🙂
I made this a few times and came out great, it was a hit for the holidays. However, I made it again last night and this time the “cheese” part came out very different, the texture is as if it’s curdled and almost seemed like the cheesecake part evaporated(didn’t have that thick cheesecakey layer). Not sure what went wrong and was wondering if you had any ideas what would make the texture that way?
I’ve made it numerous times with no issues (as did you). It sounds like maybe one of your measurements was off this time.
1/2 cup butter, how many grams?
A quick google search will give you the conversion👍🏻👍🏻
I haven’t ever had good luck using lemon extract, it always seems to taste artificial to me. Could real lemon juice be used as a substitute?
I served these at a wedding shower, to co-workers and for my husband’s birthday and received lots of compliments and requests for the recipe. I might try two minor changes the next time I make them…I would use a graham cracker crust instead of the Nilla Wafers, and I would use chopped white chocolate in the topping because the chips can get caught by the knife, causing the cheesecake mixture to squish out underneath them when cutting. Thank you for a great new recipe!
Made them for my bunco group. Everyone loved them and wanted the recipe. I will be making these often!!
Can lemon Oreos be used for crust instead of Nikka wafers?
What are Nilla Wafers, never heard of them in uk. Can you recommend an alternative?
Hi, My party is in 2 weeks can I make these now and reserve in the Ridge. Lemon Cheesecake Bars.