Lemon Cheesecake Cookie Bars – Perfected

Here is a cheesecake treat recipe I originally found on ShugarySweets.com that is a favorite in our home. I didn’t feel the original had enough lemon flavor for me, and we always strive to use fresh-ground whole wheat in our cooking, but sometimes it can be hard to find recipes that ACTUALLY call for ONLY whole wheat flour. So, I decided to modify it a little bit, and the outcome was perfect. They have a wonderful lemon flavor mixed into a bar that is part cookie, part cheesecake, 100% delicious.

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Lemon Cheesecake Cookie Bars - Perfected

A lemony treat that is part cookie, part cheesecake, 100% delicious. Served chilled you will struggle to take only one piece. Honestly, you should make more than one batch, because you'll want to hide some in your fridge for after you surprise and delight your dinner guests, and they'll be unlikely to leave you any.

Course

Desert / Treat

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

35 minutes

Passive Time

4 hours

Servings

9x13 Dish

Ingredients

Crust

• 2 cups Vanilla Wafer crumbs, about 60-70 cookies
• 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1/2 cup Butter or Margarine, melted

Cheesecake Layer

• 16 ounces Cream Cheese softened
• 3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
• 2 large Eggs or 1/3 cup Egg Whites
• 1 tbsp Lemon Extract
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice

Cookie Layer

• 3/4 cup Butter or Margarine, softened
• 1 1/2 cups Granulated Sugar
• 1 large Egg or 3 tbsp Egg Whites
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 tbsp Lemon Extract
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 2 cups Fresh Ground White Wheat Flour or Flour of your choice
• 12 ounces White Chocolate Chips or Vanilly Chips

Course Desert / Treat Prep Time 30 minutes Cook Time 35 minutes Passive Time 4 hours Servings 9x13 Dish Ingredients Crust 2 cups Vanilla Wafer crumbs, about 60-70 cookies 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar 1/2 cup Butter or Margarine, melted Cheesecake Layer 16 ounces Cream Cheese softened 3/4 cup Granulated Sugar 2 large Eggs or 1/3 cup Egg Whites 1 tbsp Lemon Extract 1 tbsp Lemon Juice Cookie Layer 3/4 cup Butter or Margarine, softened 1 1/2 cups Granulated Sugar 1 large Egg or 3 tbsp Egg Whites 1 tsp Vanilla Extract 1 tbsp Lemon Extract 1 tbsp Lemon Juice 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder 1/4 tsp Salt 2 cups Fresh Ground White Wheat Flour or Flour of your choice 12 ounces White Chocolate Chips or Vanilly Chips

Instructions

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13" baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

Crust

1. Pulse Vanilla Wafer cookies with sugar in a food processor until you have fine crumbs. Add melted butter and pulse until mixed well.
2. Use a spatula or the palm of your hand to firmly press crumb mixture into the bottom of your prepared baking dish.

Cheesecake Layer

1. Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, beat cream cheese and sugar. Add eggs, lemon extract, and lemon juice, and beat until smooth, then pour over cookie crust.

Cookie Dough

1. Use cookie paddles with your electric mixer and mix butter and sugar for 2 minutes. Add egg, vanilla, lemon extract, and lemon juice and beat until combined. Add baking powder and salt and mix again. Then add flour and mix until fully blended. Add white chocolate chips and mix one last time.
2. Take scoops of cookie dough and use fingertips to spread and flatten into 1/4 inch thick shapes, placing each gently on top of the cheesecake layer to form an even coating.

Cooking

1. Bake for 30-35 minutes with a sheet of aluminum foil on the rack above the baking dish, until lightly browned. Center will still wobble.
2. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 4 hours. Cut into squares and serve cold. Keep refrigerated.

Share this Recipe

It is a tradition in our family that on your birthday you get to choose what you want to eat for your birthday breakfast, dinner, and cake. These Lemon Cheesecake Cookie Bars taste so good they have been chosen for birthday cakes AND as a birthday breakfast! I’m sure, sooner or later, they will end up being chosen for all three meals!

I love how adaptable this recipe is. As mentioned, it easily handles my desire to use fresh ground white wheat flour. While some recipes are greatly enhanced by the use of butter over margarine, this particular recipe is forgiving in the extreme. Likewise, if you’re counting cholesterol, egg whites can be easily substituted in with practically no change to the wonderful finished product.

The Final Verdict

This recipe does have a few steps: the crust, the cheesecake layer, and then the cookie layer. It also takes a fair bit of time to make. You have to refrigerate it after it is baked and have the cream cheese and butter at room temperature before making it. They are delicious, though, and well worth the effort. While it may be daunting when looking at the recipe, it is not so bad once you actually make them. When you are done, you, and your family, will all be glad you took the time.

Please try this recipe. With my little adjustments it is most definitely… a little taste of perfection.