Lemon Cream Cheese Bars
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Buttery shortbread, creamy lemon filling, and that perfect sweet-tart balance, these lemon cream cheese bars are the kind of dessert everyone asks for the recipe. Simple ingredients, foolproof method, and absolutely irresistible.
You’ll love my traditional lemon bars with a shortbread crust, lemon posset, and lemon ricotta cookies!
Quick Look at This Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Cooling + Chill Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: About 5 hours
- Servings: 20–24 bars
- Dietary: Vegetarian
- Method: Baked
- Texture: Buttery crust, creamy center
- Flavor: Bright lemon, lightly sweet, smooth, and rich
Why you’ll love these creamy lemon bars!
These lemon cream cheese bars are everything you love in a lemony dessert: a tender, buttery shortbread base topped with a creamy, bright lemon filling that melts in your mouth. They’re rich without being heavy, sweet with just the right amount of tang, and slice beautifully for entertaining or bringing to potlucks or picnics.
This is the lemon dessert you make when you want guaranteed compliments. Warning: they disappear fast!
Try my Lemon Biscotti or Lemon Tiramisu Recipe with Lemon Curd next time.
Made With Amore,
Table of Contents
Simple Ingredients for Cream Cheese Lemon Bars
- Unsalted butter – Creates a rich, tender shortbread base with classic buttery flavor
- All-purpose flour – Provides structure and a soft, crumbly texture
- Powdered sugar – Keeps the crust delicate and melt-in-your-mouth
- Salt – Balances sweetness and enhances the buttery notes
- Full-fat cream cheese – Gives the bars their signature creamy, smooth texture
- Granulated sugar – Sweetens the filling while letting the lemon shine
- Cornstarch – Helps the filling set cleanly for neat slices
- All-purpose flour – Adds stability without making the filling dense
- Fresh lemon zest – Delivers bright citrus aroma and flavor
- Fresh lemon juice – Provides the tangy, refreshing lemon bite
- Large eggs – Binds the filling and creates a silky, custard-like texture
- Pure vanilla extract – Rounds out the lemon and adds warmth
- Powdered sugar – A light finishing touch for sweetness and presentation
See the recipe card for exact quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- Gluten-free: Use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend in both crust and filling.
- Extra lemon flavor: Add additional zest or a thin lemon glaze on top. Try my Lemon Biscotti With White Glaze next!
- Vanilla shortbread crust: Add ½ teaspoon vanilla to the crust dough.
- Orange or lime version: Swap lemon juice and zest for another citrus. You’ll love my Orange Olive Oil Cake (Italian Recipe).
How To Make Lemon Cream Cheese Bars
This is a step-by-step photo overview of the recipe; the full instructions are in the recipe card below.
Step #1: Prep the pan and oven: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on the sides. Lightly grease. Make the shortbread crust: In a large bowl, mix butter, flour, powdered sugar, and salt until a soft dough forms. You can also use a food processor.
Step #2: Press evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven.
Step #3: Make the filling: In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, granulated sugar, and cornstarch until smooth on medium speed with an electric mixer. Mix in flour, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing just until combined. Stir vanilla into the mixture.
Step #4: Bake: Pour filling over the warm crust. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the center is set.
Step #5: Cool and chill: Let cool at room temperature for 20 minutes, then cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
Step #6: Slice and serve: Lift bars out using the parchment or foil. Slice into squares, dust with powdered sugar, and serve.
The best lemon cream cheese bars with fresh lemon juice, creamy filling, and a tender shortbread crust. Perfect for make-ahead desserts and gatherings.
My Pro Tips
How to Get Perfect Lemon Cream Cheese Bars Every Time
- Chill fully before slicing for clean, bakery-style bars.
- Bake the crust just until set—not browned—to keep it tender.
- Mix the filling just until smooth; overmixing adds air and can cause cracks.
- Don’t overbake—the center should be set but not dry.
FAQ’s
Yes. Because they contain cream cheese and eggs, they must be stored in the refrigerator once cooled.
Cracks can happen if the filling is overmixed or overbaked. Mix just until smooth and remove from the oven as soon as the center is set.
Make ahead: These bars are best made a day in advance.
Storage: Store in the refrigerator, covered or in an airtight container, for up to 5 days.
Freezing: Store sliced bars (without powdered sugar) in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and dust before serving.
More Lemon Dessert Recipes
If you love lemon treats, you’ll want to try these next time!
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Lemon Cream Cheese Bars
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
Lemon Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 ounces full-fat cream cheese, softened
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- Zest of 2 lemons
- ¾ cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice, about 2–3 lemons
- 5 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For Serving
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Prep the pan and oven: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides. Lightly grease.
- Make the shortbread crust: In a large bowl, mix butter, flour, powdered sugar, and salt until a soft dough forms. You can also do this in a food processor or a handheld mixer. Press evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven.
- Make the filling: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, granulated sugar, and cornstarch until smooth. Mix in flour, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing just until combined. Stir in vanilla.
- Bake: Pour filling over the warm crust. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the center is set.
- Cool and chill: Let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
- Slice and serve: Lift bars out using the parchment or foil. Slice into squares, dust with powdered sugar, and serve.
Notes
- Use fresh lemon juice only—this is where the flavor shines.
- Let bars chill fully before slicing for sharp, bakery-style edges.
- For extra lemon flavor, add a touch more zest on top before serving.
- Make ahead: These bars are best made a day in advance.
- Storage: Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Freeze sliced bars (without powdered sugar) for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and dust before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
