Light, fluffy and totally irresistible, these lemon-coconut cheesecake bars are the star of any bake sale! You can even switch out the graham crackers for chocolate cookie crumbs.
Lemon-coconut cheesecake bars
Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter
1-1/4 cups graham crumbs
250 g package cream cheese, at room temperature, cubed
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
1 cup store-bought lemon spread
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 300 F. Lightly coat an 8-inch-square pan with butter or cooking spray. Microwave butter in a medium bowl, on medium, until melted, 1 minute. Stir in crumbs until evenly moist. Press onto bottom of pan. Chill while preparing filling.
2. Whirl cream cheese in food processor until smooth, scraping down side of bowl, if needed. Add sugar, eggs and vanilla. Pulse until mixed. Add lemon zest and coconut. Pulse just until combined.
3. Pour over chilled base, smoothing top. Spoon large dollops of lemon spread over cream cheese mixture. Using tip of a knife, swirl spread through cream cheese a few times, creating a wavy pattern. Keep swirls shallow, about 1/2-inch deep.
4. Bake in centre of oven until filling is slightly jiggly, 50 minutes. Cool on a rack for 1 hour, then refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Cut into 32 bars. Refrigerate up to 5 days or wrap in foil and freeze up to 2 months.