Lemon, you belong in my life. Easy lemon recipe? Game on. This recipe could pass for either a breakfast treat or a dessert, depending on the time of day you choose to serve it…if that even matters. Basically it is a light, cream cheese batter zingy with lemon zest and juice, with a flaky pre-made crescent dough top and bottom. As in, the hardest part of this recipe is the pat pat pat of stretching out the dough you popped out of a can, and blending the cream cheese part.
While your cream cheese filling is in the mixer, press your crescent roll dough in the bottom of a parchment lined pan (you can skip the parchment but I like to be able to slice/serve and it makes it so much easier).
Smooth the cream cheese mixture over the dough, then cover with another layer of crescent dough.
I wasn’t super careful about the making sure the top was sealed together, because you end up brushing the dough with butter and sprinkling with sugar and additional lemon zest, which…covers the mistakes.
This simple, light, lemony dessert is the perfect addition to any spring table, bringing a sweet, tangy, creamy, pastry combination to your meal.
I hope you enjoy this recipe, and as always, thank you for coming to the table!
Chrissy
Easy Lemon Cream Cheese Bars
These delicious Lemon Cream Cheese Bars combine the sweet cream cheese lemon layer sandwiched in between crescent dough. Very much like a danish, this easy recipe is light and tangy and sweet.
Ingredients
- 2 containers of refrigerated Crescent Roll Dough (8 ounces)
- 2 packages of Cream Cheese (8 ounces)
- 2 Lemons, Zested and juiced (I used more lemon zest because I like it)
- 1/2 Cup White Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Melted Butter
- 3 Additional Tablespoons White Sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350*
- Line the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
- Take one container of crescent roll dough and press into pan (try to keep it as one whole piece-rectangle)
- Mix cream cheese, sugar, zest, and juice together until smooth and creamy.
- Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over the bottom layer of crescent roll.
- Unroll the second container of crescent roll dough and carefully stretch over the lemon cream cheese layer.
- Brush melted butter on top of crescent dough top.
- Mix remaining sugar (3 tablespoons) and additional lemon zest together and sprinkle on top of the butter.
- Bake for approximately 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the sugar/butter mixture is crackly.
- Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to cut into bars.
- When cool, use the parchment paper to lift the bars out the pan, and transfer to cutting board.
- Cut into squares and serve.