Lemon Cheesecake Bars with an Animal Cracker Crust

These lemon cheesecake bars combine two of my favorite things, cheesecake and bar recipes! They have an animal cracker crumb crust and taste amazing.

My husband was first in line for this dessert. He loves lemon desserts. Plus, I love them because they come together quickly and are perfect for bake sales and pot luck dinners. 

Keep reading for the recipe for these lemon cheesecake bars.

Ingredients for these lemon cheesecake animal cracker bars

To make this animal cracker dessert you’ll need the following ingredients:

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• 4 ½ cups of animal crackers
• ¾ cup of butter, cubed
• ¼ teaspoon of sea salt
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 24 ounces cream cheese at room temperature (3 packages)
• 2 medium eggs
• 1 ½ tablespoons all purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest
• ¾ cup sugar
• Confectioners sugar to sprinkle on the top

This lemon cheesecake bars recipe is very easy to make.

Start by preheating your oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Then line a 9 x 13 baking pan with parchment paper.

Next we are going to make the crumb crust with animal crackers. They have a slight sweetness to them and crumble up nicely, and this makes them the perfect base for these tart cheesecake bars.

Combine your animal crackers, cubed butter, sea salt and brown sugar in a food processor. Pulse until the butter is incorporated and the mixture is crumbly.

Bake the crumb crust for about 10 minutes until it is lightly browned. Remove it from the oven, and turn the oven temperature down to 325ºF (160ºC).

Let the crust cool it while you make the cheesecake filling. To do this, place the softened cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until it is fluffy and creamy. Mix in the eggs, flour, lemon juice, lemon zest and sugar.

The mixture will be very lightly colored. If you want it to be a richer yellow, you can add a few drops of yellow gel food coloring. Spread the mixture on top of the crust in your 9 x 13″ baking pan.

Bake at 325ºF (160ºC) for about 40-45 minutes until the edges are starting to brown and the middle is set and no longer jiggly.

The bars will need to cool for an hour and then be placed in the fridge. Don’t try to cut them for at least four hours.

Once they are completely cooled and set, cut them into bars.

When I trimmed my bars to have straight edges, I saved some of the animal cracker crust to use as a light crumble on top.

Finally, a quick sprinkle of confectioner’s sugar gives a nice finishing touch.

Time to taste them!

These delicious lemon cheesecake bars are sweet, creamy and full of the fresh taste of lemons. They make the perfect spring dessert. You won’t be able to stop eating these!

Every bite of these tangy/sweet bars have a crunch of the buttery animal crackers.

What a fun finish to creamy sweetness of the cheesecake. Bring them to a pot luck, or serve them after a fun barbecue.

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Yield: 16

Lemon Cheesecake Bars with an Animal Cracker Crust

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These lemon cheesecake bars have an animal cracker crust, and are a crowd pleaser!

Make this easy dessert recipe one night this week for a dessert the whole family will love.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

For the animal cracker crust:

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• 4 ½ cups of animal crackers
• ¾ cup of butter, cubed
• ¼ teaspoon of sea salt
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 24 ounces cream cheese at room temperature (3 packages)
• 2 medium eggs
• 1 ½ tablespoons all purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest
• ¾ cup sugar
• Confectioner's sugar to sprinkle on the top

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Place the animal crackers, butter, sea salt and brown sugar in a food processor. Pulse until it makes a crumb like texture. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes until golden brown. Remove and allow to cool.
4. Reduce the oven to 325ºF (160ºC).
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat your cream cheese until smooth, about 1 minute.
6. Add in the egg, flour, lemon juice, lemon zest and sugar. The mixture will be light colored. You can add 1 to 2 drops of yellow gel food coloring if you want a more yellow colored bar.
7. Mix for 2-3 minutes until mixture is completely smooth.
8. Pour the cheesecake mixture over the cooled crust and bake in oven for 40-45 minutes until the edges are starting to brown and the middle is set.
9. Allow to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Cover and place in fridge for at least 3 hours, before slicing and serving.
10. When cooled and completely set, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar, a bit of the reserved crumble and cut into bars

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