Fluffy, light, creamy, refreshing and not overly sweet these are the first descriptions I think of as I taste No Bake Lemon Cheesecake Bars
No Bake Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Creamy cheesecake bars are studded with chunks of lemon sandwich cookies and tart lemon juice. They’re a little sweet and a little tart. They’re a little creamy and a little crumbly. They’re a breeze to make and they’re definitely good!
If you’re looking for an easy dessert for a ladies’ lunch, tea or shower, these are the perfect dessert bars. You can make them in bars as I did or in individual muffin cups using cupcakes liners for a little fancier treat.
Really, I like no-bake cheesecake as much as the ones you have to bake. They’re much easier, takes less time and you don’t have to worry about the top splitting. You can also easily make this in minutes, well, it does take a while to set in the refrigerator or freezer, but that’s hands-off time.
the crust
Let’s start with the crust! I crushed lemon cream-filled sandwich cookies for the crust. If you need to get a little aggression out, this is the perfect recipe! Smash the heck out of these cookies until they’re finely crushed. Then you’ll simple mix the crushed cookies with melted butter. You don’t even need to bake this, just sit it in the fridge while you prepare the cheesecake.
Next, you’ll need to mix the cream cheese until it’s smooth. It’s much easier if you’ll have the cream cheese at room temperature. Using an electric mixer cream until smooth then fold cool whip into cream cheese mixture.
I used about 2 cups or half of an 8-ounce container. You can certainly fold in the entire 8 ounces, it’ll just make it lighter and fluffier! I do suggest reserving half a cup of cool whip to spread over the top. This isn’t mandatory, but I like a smooth, clean layer on top, it just gives it a more professional look.
Finally, you can take it a step further and zest a lemon over the top or make curls with lemon peel to decorate with. Remember we eat with our eyes first.
No Bake Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
- 16.2 ounce package lemon sandwich cookies divided
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 medium lemon zested
- 8 ounces cool whip divided
- *optional - lemon zest or curls or yellow sugar for garnish
Instructions
- Line an 8x8-inch pan with heavy duty aluminum foil with sides extended over pan enough that you can pull bars out after they are set.
- Coarsely shop 8 cookies.
- Finely crush 15 cookies for crust. Mix these with melted butter and press firmly onto bottom of prepared pan. Refrigerate while preparing filling.
- Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add lemon juice and zest.
- Fold in ALL EXCEPT 1/2 CUP of the cool whip.
- Fold in coarsely chopped cookies.
- Spoon mixture over crust. Spread remaining 1/2 cup cool whip over top and smooth.
- Garnish if desired.
- Refrigerate 4 hours or until set and firm.
Notes
- *you can substitute Golden Oreos for lemon cookies
- *total time includes refrigeration time
- *low-fat cream cheese, cool whip and cookies may be substituted
- Store remaining cheesecake in refrigerator up to 5 days.
Nutrition
ou can also find great recipes here or at Meal Plan Monday or Weekend Potluck.
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Toni | Boulder Locavore says
I love how easy this is to make!!
Isabella says
These look so delicious!! I love things that are no bake! Who needs an oven when you can enjoy something this great!
Hadia says
Love lemon desserts, and here is something new to be added to my repertoire of citrus desserts!