Lemon Cream Cheese Bars

4.50 from 2 votes

These easy lemon cream cheese bars have a creamy cheesecake filling that sits between a buttery crescent roll dough layer, making for a refreshing and sweet dessert.

Prep Time2 15

Cook Time27

Total Time2 42

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: lemon cream cheese bars

Servings:

Author: Emily Richter

Ingredients

2 8 oz. crescent roll tubes
16 oz. cream cheese softened
1 cup powdered sugar
½ cup granulated sugar divided
2 large lemons zest, and juice (~⅔ cup juice and 2-3 tablespoons zest)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350℉.
Grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish with 1 tablespoon of butter.
Open one tube of crescent rolls and cover the bottom of the casserole dish with the flattened dough. Use your fingers to crimp together the seams that are in the dough. Set aside.
Place the cream cheese, powdered sugar, ¼ cup sugar, zest, lemon juice, and vanilla into a large bowl. Using a hand mixer, mix until well combined.
Transfer the cream cheese mixture onto the top of the crescent roll dough in the casserole dish and evenly spread it out.
Next, cover the cream cheese mixture with the second tube of crescent rolls. Lightly go over the seams pinching them together.
Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and brush it on top of the crescent roll dough. Sprinkle on the remaining ¼ cup of sugar.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving.

Notes

This is a great recipe to make the night before.
When the bars come out of the oven they will be taller because the cream cheese is still warm and not settled. At this point, the cream cheese will be softer than the finished product. If they were to be cut at this point the cream cheese would squirt out. You can tell the bars are ready to be cut when the bottom of the pan is cold in the middle, and when there is little give when pushing on the top layer of crust.

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