Lemon Oreo Cheesecake Bars

Ever since this past winter when our daughter Emma was selling Girl Scout cookies with her Daisy troop, I’ve had a craving for the Lemonades flavored Girl Scout cookies – a flavor that I tried for the very first time this year!  Our troop’s ‘Cookie Mom’ Melissa, mentioned that her family absolutely loved them – and it was love at first bite for Jack and me when we tried the Lemonades ourselves!

So a few weeks ago, one of my blogging friends, Karyn, over at Pint Sized Baker posted a picture on Facebook of the limited-edition Lemon Twist Oreos that she was baking with…and my craving for lemon cookies came back strong!  I easily found them at my local grocery store – and these Lemon Oreo Cheesecake Bars came to be!

These lemon Oreo cheesecake bars are quick and easy to prepare, and full of sweet and lemony flavors!  An easy crust of the lemon Oreos and butter takes just minutes to prepare in a food processor.  Once the crust is baked, it’s covered with a filling made with cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, vanilla and lemon extract and more chunks of the lemon Oreo cookies – then baked again.

We drizzled our cooled lemon Oreo cheesecake bars with a lemon glaze for some added flavor and  color, but they are creamy and lemony and delicious with or without the extra glaze.  I’m just hoping the Lemon Twist Oreos are in stores long enough to last me until Girl Scout cookie season comes around again…

Adapted from Annie’s Eats

Lemon Oreo Cheesecake Bars

• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 1 9x9-inch pan (12 servings)

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Ingredients

For the Crust:

• 20 Lemon Twist OREO cookies
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the Cheesecake:

• 12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 6 tablespoons sour cream, at room temperature
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg plus one egg yolk
• 10 Lemon Twist OREO cookies, roughly chopped

For the Lemon Glaze:

• ¾ cup powdered sugar, or more as needed
• 1–2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, or more as needed

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9×9-in baking pan with a large enough sheet of foil so that the edges of the foil reach over the sides of the pan (you will use the foil to lift the cheesecake from the pan). Press the foil down into the bottom and corners of the pan being careful not to tear the foil.
2. Place 20 OREO’s into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the cookies are ground in fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse again until evenly combined. Pour the crumbs into your prepared baking pan and spread evenly, then press the crumbs down firmly to create a crust in the bottom of the pan.
3. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the baking pan from the oven, but leave the oven on at 325 degrees.
4. While the crust is baking, place the cream cheese in the bowl of stand mixer and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (approximately 2 minutes). Add the sugar and mix well. Blend in the sour cream, vanilla and lemon extracts and salt. Add the egg and egg yolk and mix until all of the ingredients are completely combined. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and with a rubber spatula, fold in the OREO pieces until evenly combined throughout the batter.
5. Pour the cheesecake batter over the crust in the baking pan, and evenly spread to cover the crust. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes – you want the cheesecake to be set around the edges but still slightly wobbly in the center.
6. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack until it is room temperature (do not put the pan in the refrigerator at this point to cool – otherwise the top may crack). Once the pan has reached room temperature, then cover and place the cheesecake in the refrigerator to chill completely (3-4 hours).
7. When ready to serve, gently pull up on the edges of the foil and pull the cheesecake out of the pan. Place on a cutting board and peel away the foil.
8. In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and enough lemon juice to create a medium-thick glaze. Place a small round tip into a piping bag, and fill with the prepared glaze. In a diagonal pattern, drizzle the glaze over the entire cheesecake.
9. Slice the cheesecake into bars – we found it helpful to wet the knife with warm water before slicing. Wipe the knife clean in between cuts so that the edges of the bars stay neat.
10. Serve immediately, or keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

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