Lemon Cream Cheese Bar Recipe

Name: Lemon Cream Cheese Bars
Prep time: 12 min
Cook time: 36 min
Total time: 48 min
Yield: 9
Ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup pecans (or walnuts finely chopped); 1/3 cup light brown sugar (packed); 6 tablespoons butter (softened); 1 teaspoon lemon zest; 1 tablespoon lemon juice; 1 8 ounce package cream cheese (softened); 1/4 cup granulated sugar; 1 tablespoon half-and-half (or milk); 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 large egg

Prep: 12 mins

Cook: 36 mins

Total: 48 mins

Servings: 9 servings

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These delicious lemon cream cheese bars are made with brown sugar and nut shortbread crust and crumb topping.

The lemon-flavored cream cheese filling isn't overly sweet, and it's made with only 8 ounces of cream cheese, a small amount of milk, and the juice and zest of about 1/2 of a lemon.

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1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup pecans (or walnuts finely chopped)
1/3 cup light brown sugar (packed)
6 tablespoons butter (softened)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 8 ounce package cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon half-and-half (or milk)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg

Heat oven to 350 F. Lightly butter a 9-inch square baking pan.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, pecans or walnuts, brown sugar, and butter. Using your hands, blend ingredients together until the dough is crumbly. Reserve 1/2 cup of the crumb mixture.*
Spread the remaining crumb mixture in pan. Bake the crust for 12 to 14 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove to a rack.
Meanwhile, combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, cream cheese, granulated sugar, milk, vanilla, and egg in a mixing bowl. Beat the mixture with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of bowl occasionally.
Pour the cream cheese lemon mixture over the hot baked crust. Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture evenly over lemon cheese layer. Bake for 25 minutes longer, or until lightly browned. Chill for 2 hours before serving. Cut into bars. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or store in the freezer.

*If desired, use all of the crumbs in the bottom crust and top the chilled bars with sifted confectioners' sugar just before serving.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
337	Calories
25g	Fat
23g	Carbs
7g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 9
Amount per serving
Calories	337
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 25g	32%
Saturated Fat 12g	58%
Cholesterol 146mg	49%
Sodium 278mg	12%
Total Carbohydrate 23g	8%
Dietary Fiber 1g	5%
Protein 7g
Calcium 79mg	6%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.