Lemon Cheesecake Bars

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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!

I’m obsessed with cheesecake cookies bars, and this lemon version ranks as one of my favorites!

Two lemon cheesecake cookie bars stacked on top of eachother.

This recipe was originally published in June 2015. I updated the recipe notes in March 2025.

Aimee’s Recipe Notes

Taste- Buttery vanilla wafer crust, creamy cheesecake, and lemon cookie topping!

Serving- Serve chilled for best flavor!

Storage- These bars should be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Or freeze them for up to 3 months.

Yield- This makes a 13×9 baking dish. Cut the pieces small, as they are rich and filling!

Can’t decide between No Bake Lemon Cheesecake and Lemon Bars? Lemon Cheesecake Cookie Bars combine the best of all worlds!

“These were a huge hit at a dinner party. It’s great because so can cut into smaller bites for a little something sweet. I even had someone take the recipe that night.” – Lisa

Ingredient Notes

Ingredients needed for lemon cheesecake cookie bars.

Be sure to scroll to the end of the recipe card for full measurements and ingredients.

  • 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.

How to Make Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Step by step photos showing how to make lemon cheesecake bars.

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.

Assemble: 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!

Squares of lemon cheesecake cookie bars on a teal cake platter.

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.

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Lemon Cheesecake Bars Recipe

5 from 12 votes
By: Aimee
Sweet Lemon Cheesecake Bars have a cookie crust, lemon cheesecake filling, and white chocolate chip cookie topping!
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Chill Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 5 hours
Servings: 24 large 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

Serving: 1cookie bar, Calories: 339kcal, Carbohydrates: 42g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 59mg, Sodium: 126mg, Sugar: 31g
Course: Cheesecake
Cuisine: American
Did you make this recipe?Mention @shugarysweets or tag #shugarysweets!

Easy Cheeseake Recipes

Cold, creamy and sweet Lemon Cheesecake Bars make everyone happy!

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About Aimee Shugarman

Aimee is a dessert lover (specifically rice krispie treats), workout enthusiast, self-taught foodie, and recipe creator.

Learn more about Aimee.

Affiliate Disclosure:**There may be affiliate links in this post! By clicking on them, or purchasing recommended items I may receive a small compensation. However, I only recommend products I love! Thank you for supporting Shugary Sweets! See my disclosure policy for more info**

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Posted on August 9, 2021

Comments & Reviews

  1. These lemon cheesecake bars look AMAZING! But then I scrolled down the page and saw your Snickerdoodle cheesecake bars, so I don’t know which one I want more right now. But I’m saving these recipes for sure!

  2. I’m trying to stagger my baking for a graduation party in mid-May and wonder how many days in advance of the party I could make these. Congratulations on your son’s service. My husband is a retired Marine. Thank you so much!

  3. I live in the UK and I’ve never heard of Nilla wafers! Can anyone recommend an alternative? I would love to be able to make these..  

  4. Thank you so much for the recipe!:) We made it with my sister and we are both loving it!:) Only if it weren’t so sweet, because this way it can only be eaten in teeny-tiny bites at a time:( I did consider myself to be sweet-toothed, but this cake is too sweet even for me. So to anyone who is considering making this amazing cheescake bar: pre-taste the cookie dough before you put in all the sugar in the recipe, for me half the amount of sougar would have been plently enough. I will try it again soon, with less sugar, because apart form that it is amazing!!:)

  5. HI,
    Thank you for such an amazing recipe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I made this for church coffee hour. It is fantastic! Like another, I used 2 drops of essential oil too. Wouldn’t change a thing.

      1. My daughter just retired from the US Air Force and I’m so, happy she does not ever have to go back over seas again. My heart is with all of you that have son and daughters and other family members in the Armed Forces. I do want you to know when you send goodie bags send extra. My daughter said that the worst thing about me sending her stuff was seeing the faces of the ones who don’t get things from home. So please always send extra for them to share.

        1. Good to know, and thank you to your daughter for all her years of service 🙂

  6. Aimee, these lemon cheesecake bars look heavenly.  My husband is a retired Marine.  He served for 24 years.  He went to boot camp at San Diego in January 1975.  He,(himself) was a Drill Instructor for 3 years at MCRD Parris Island, S.C.  Your son will soon become One of The Few, The Proud and The Brave.”

  7. These turned out so well. They are delicious! I tweaked the recipe a little and gave you a shout out on my blog. Thanks for the inspiration!  http://beautybwb.blogspot.com/2016/04/luscious-lemon-bars.html

  8. I increased the ingredients by 1 1/2 times as a 9×13 baking dish is very large. I also decreased the sugar in the cookie layer by 1/4 cup and omitted the chocolate pieces as the cake would have been too sweet.
    The bars turned out great.

  9. I made lemon bars for Easter dinner dessert, and they were a hit! Oh my gracious, they were delicious! I used 3 drops of Young Living Lemon essential instead of lemon extract, and the cheesecake was light and refreshing! I would never recommend ingesting any other brand of lemon essential oil,  just because of safety concerns. I’m planning on making this dessert for my son’s graduation party soon! Thanks for the inspiration! 

  10. Be very proud of that young man you have raised. I too had my son join the military out of high school and
    it is difficult to go through, but hang in there. Thank him for serving our country. Your lemon bars look
    wonderful too, I plan to make some soon.

    1. Thank you so much Kathy! I feel so much love and support from this community!! Thank you to YOUR son as well 🙂

  11. I can’t even imagine Aimee!! My heart and emotional eater status goes out to you. <3

    1. I love vanilla, but no. My error!! Clearly my eyes were stinging from tears, haha! It’s 3/4 tsp 🙂

5 from 12 votes

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