Easy Peasy Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Ok it is Easter Sunday, so I hope everyone is having a beautiful day with friends and family.  We had a wonderful dinner with friends last night and I was in charge of desserts (imagine that).  I had wanted to try out an experiement with the cherry chip cheesecake bar recipe and thought this would be a great oppurtunity.  So I did, and it was a success!!  In fact my family having sampled both desserts prefered the new lemon version better then the original cherry!

If you have already made or pinned, or looked at the cherry chip version just substitue lemon cake mix and frosting for the cherry. Everything else is the same.  IF this is your first look at this recipe than I will list all the details below!

Ingredients:

1 box lemon cake mix

1/2 cup butter at room temp

2 pkgs (8oz) cream cheese softened

1 container of lemon frosting

3 eggs

zest of 1 lemon

Preparation:

* Beat butter and cake mix, and 1/2 the lemon zest in a bowl with an electric mixer(I use my stand mixer) on low speed until crumbly.  Reserve about a cup ( I save a little more than a cup) and put aside.

* Pour crumb mixture in your 13×9 ungreased pan. ** Baker’s Tip: I lightly spray my pan, line it with foil and spray the foil.  Makes easy clean up, and easy to get out of the pan to cut and serve.  Pat the mixture down to make the crust.

* In same bowl beat frosting and cream cheese til smooth, add eggs one at a time and mix till blended. Then mix in the remaining zest.

* Pour over crust and sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.

* Bake at 325 degrees until set.  About 42-45mins.  I baked it for around 50 mins in my oven.  Remove from oven to cool. Once cooled completely cover and put in fridge at least 2 hrs. Cut and serve.