Lemon Cheesecake Bars? Yes, please!

Today is Labor Day, so of course I’m thinking about food. Well, I’m also thinking about time on the water, but I’m also thinking about what food we’ll be eating while we’re there.

This year will be different because of the restrictions related to the pandemic. Instead of twenty people, there will probably be six. Instead of making five or six dishes, I’m making two. And we’ll enjoy every bite!

I decided to make Lemon Cheesecake Bars for my friend who loves lemon EVERYTHING. I’ve made lemon bars for him before, but I couldn’t find the recipe I used before so off to Google I went. I found a recipe for No Bake Lemon Cheesecake Bars but naturally I decided to change it up a little!

Most people love cheesecake, but it takes hours to make traditional cheesecake. A no-bake version sounded like a winner, besides being lighter and more palatable on a hot summer day. I will warn you though . . . this is one of those recipes that messes up a LOT of things in the kitchen!

The first step is to create the crust. Most cheesecakes use a graham cracker crust, but I decided the sweetness of a sugar cookie crust would be a better balance. I intended to buy some pre-packaged sugar cookies, but there were none on the shelf. I bought a package of refrigerated sugar cookie dough instead, to cut down on my prep time. I baked them a little longer than the package instructions, so they would be crispier than usual.

This is the crumb size you are going for! If you don’t have a food processor, you and put the cookies in a ziploc bag and use a rolling pin to crush them.

Once they were cool, I put them all into my food processor and pulsed until they were medium coarse crumbs. Then I poured 1/3 c. of melted butter into the crumbs and pulsed a few more times to blend.

Prepare a 9×9 dish (or the equivalent) by lining it with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. (This will allow you to lift the bars out of the dish without disinigrating them.) You can lightly spray the wrap with cooking spray if you like. Press the cookie crumb mixture into the bottom of the dish and up the sides if it stretches that far. Put the crust into the refigerator to chill while you prepare the filling.

There are a couple of steps to complete before you can assemble the filling. First, you need to make a 3 oz. package of lemon gelatin, reducing the liquid to 1/2 cup of boiling water and 1/2 cup of iced water. Set it aside without chilling.

If you plan to use homemade whipped cream, you should prepare it now. Use 3/4 cup of heavy cream or whipping cream and beat on high until you have stiff peaks. Set aside.

The cream cheese and sugar after whipping.

Combine 8 oz. softened cream cheese and 1/4 cup of sugar in a stand mixer, beating on medium high until it is smooth and creamy. (A hand mixer will work fine, too.) Add 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice and continue beating. (That’s the juice of one large lemon. If it’s a little short, you can add some bottled lemon juice to top it off.) Add the gelatin mixture and continue beating. Once it is smooth, use a spatula to fold in the whipped cream. (If you use whipped cream from the grocery store, you’ll need 1 1/2 cups.)

Spread the filling in the dish over the crust and return to the refrigerator to chill for several hours (or even overnight). The filling should be firm before adding the lemon curd on top.

You need to make the lemon curd in enough time for it to cool to room temperature before adding it to the top.

This is how it looks when it coats the spoon.

To make the lemon curd, melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a small pan. Once it is melted, whisk in 1/3 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice, and 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest. (I used two lemons — one medium and one large — for juice and still had to top it off. The medium one was enough for the zest.) In a separate bowl, slightly beat 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, then drizzle it into the lemon mixture while whisking constantly. (Save the egg white to use in something else! I’ll be using it to make a banana pudding with meringue in a little while.) Return the mixture to medium heat and whisk constantly for about five minutes until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

If you don’t let the plastic wrap touch the curd completely, it will form a skin as it cools, which will make a big lump in the curd if you try to stir it in.

When it is ready, pour it into a bowl and put plastic wrap on top, touching the surface of the curd to prevent a film from forming. Allow it to cool to room temperature.

Once the cheesecake filling is set, you can use the plastic wrap lining to lift the entire dessert from the pan and onto a surface to cut it into bars. Spread the cooled lemon curd on top. Top with more whipped cream and maybe fresh berries to garnish.

If there are any leftovers, keep them in the refrigerator in an airtight bowl. (But I’m betting there won’t be any!)

UPDATE: Because there wasn’t a large crowd on Labor Day, I did have leftovers in my fridge for 5 days and it held up beautifully! The crust wasn’t soggy and the filling was still moist but firm.