Lemon Cheesecake Bars

AlabamaGirl71's Note:

Lemon and cheesecake--my favorite combination of flavors!

• Total Time: 46 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 36 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 24 bars

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Combine graham cracker crumbs, pecans, sugar, and melted butter; mix well.
3. Reserve 1/3 cup crumb mixture.
4. Press the rest into a 13x9-inch baking pan.
5. Bake for 6 minutes; allow to cool.
6. While the crust is cooling, beat cream cheese until it's fluffy.
7. Gradually beat in the milk.
8. Add eggs until mixture is just combined.
9. Stir in the lemon juice and vanilla.
10. Pour mixture into prepared crust.
11. Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over the top of the cheesecake layer.
12. Bake for about 30 minutes.
13. Cool for about an hour, then cut into bars.
14. Store in your refrigerator.

Reviews

[Thunder Bay Laura]

These were really good! I made half a recipe and used flaked coconut in place of the pecans. I think lemon and coconut are meant to be eaten together! The only reason I am not giving this five stars is because I found the crust too crumbly - it needs to be a bit wetter so it doesn't fall apart so easily when it comes time to serve. Perhaps brown sugar would help it stick together better - next time I might try adding a bit of the condensed milk to the crust. I used the grated zest of one small lemon as others have done and I found the cheesecake perfectly sweet and tart. Since I halved the recipe, I opted to cook for only 25 minutes in my oven...that was a mistake - 5 more minutes would have given it a better cheesecake-like texture. Finally, to address the criticism about the bars being too thin: I put my half recipe in an 8 X 8 casserole. I think the thickness was perfect. For a full recipe, I'd say a 9 X 13 pan is the appropriate size to use. I think others that found these bars too thin were wanting the thickness of a cheesecake, but this isn't a cheesecake!

[ratherbeswimmin']

Lemon and cheesecake are my favorites too, Lori. These cheesecake bars were wonderful. Very easy to make and tasted like I made a big effort. I used fresh-squeezed lemon juice and the taste was rich and very refreshing. The texture was creamy and my family sure enjoyed it. I took the left-overs to work so my co-workers could get a taste. They loved them too. Thanks Lori, for sharing your recipe.

[chefbeebo]

Absolutely delicious! These were absolute heaven. I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out beautifully. Thank you for sharing.