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Lemon Cream Cheese Bars
Prep
15 mins
Cook
30 mins
Servings
24
Difficulty
Medium
These lemon cream cheese bars are one of my go to desserts when I need something that tastes impressive but doesn't require much fuss. With just 15 minutes of prep and 30 minutes in the oven, you'll have a tangy, creamy treat ready to serve in under an hour. The beauty of using refrigerated crescent roll dough is that it takes all the work out of making a crust from scratch, which means less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying dessert. Plus, the lemon juice in these bars provides a good dose of vitamin C, so you can feel a little better about indulging. Trust me, once you try these, they'll become your new favorite shortcut dessert.
Ella x
Ingredients
- cooking spraycooking spray
- 22 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent roll dough (such as pillsbury® recipe creations®), divided
- 22 lemons, zested and juiced, divided
- 22 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup white sugar½ cup white sugar
- 22 tablespoons butter, melted
- 33 tablespoons white sugar
Detail level
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish with aluminum foil and coat with cooking spray.
- 2
Unroll 1 crescent roll dough; press into the bottom of the prepared baking dish, stretching to the edges.
- 3
Mix together lemon juice and 3/4 of the lemon zest in a large bowl. Beat cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar into juice-zest mixture with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy; spread over crescent roll dough in the baking dish.
- 4
Unroll remaining crescent roll dough and place over cream cheese mixture, stretching to the edges. Brush melted butter on top. Mix together 3 tablespoons sugar and remaining lemon zest in a small bowl; sprinkle over melted butter.
- 5
Bake in the preheated oven until top is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes.
- 6
Lift dessert from the baking dish using foil; transfer to a cutting board. Cut into squares, leaving on foil. Return dessert to the baking dish and refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.
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