Lemon Cream Cheese Bars Recipe – super easy dessert for a crowd! Crescent rolls, cream cheese, lemon, sugar, vanilla extract, and melted butter. Bursting with lemon flavor! Great for dessert, breakfast, or an afternoon snack. You won’t be able to eat just one. These things are dangerously delicious!
Ingredients:
- 2 (8-oz) cans crescent rolls, divided
- 2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
- 2 lemons juiced and zested , divided
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp butter, melted
- 3 Tbsp sugar
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9×13-inch baking dish with aluminum foil. Lightly spray with cooking spray.
- Press one can of crescent rolls in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 7 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, combine lemon juice, zest of 1½ lemons, cream cheese, ½ cup sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat together with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
- Spread cream cheese mixture over partially baked crescent roll crust.
- Unroll the second can of crescent roll dough and layer over the cream cheese mixture, gently stretching dough to the edges.
- Brush the dough with melted butter.
- In a small bowl, combine 3 tablespoons of sugar and the remaining lemon zest. Sprinkle sugar mixture over the melted butter.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown.
- Cool the bars for 20 minutes and then refrigerate for an hour.
- Lift the dessert from the baking dish and transfer to a cutting board. Cut the dessert into bars and enjoy.
Notes:
- You can use low-fat cream cheese. I do not suggest using fat free cream cheese. It doesn’t melt as well.
- Can use regular crescent roll dough, reduced-fat crescent rolls, or crescent dough sheets.
- Adjust the amount of lemon flavor to your personal preference. There are no eggs in the filling, so it is safe to taste the cream cheese mixture.
- Store the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator.