Lemon raspberry cheesecake is tart yet sweet, smooth and creamy with the best crunchy cookie crust. This will become your favorite warm weather treat!
We’ve had a lot of ups and downs in the weather this month of April. One day it’s 70°F and I’m sweating in a t-shirt and shorts walking Winston. Two days later it’s snowing, windy and cold.
The one thing that has kept my spring spirits alive have been these lemon raspberry cheesecake bars.
Seriously, my mouth is already watering, and I’ve barely told you what makes them so incredible.
Let’s first start with the cookie crust.
What makes lemon raspberry cheesecake bars so irresistible
The cookie crust
If you’ve never had Lemon Oreo Thins you are seriously missing out.
Burken isn’t a huge fan of sweets, but for some reason these Lemon Oreo Thins get him every time. I’ll find him sneaking one or two out of the pantry after dinner.
Which was why I had to hide them so that I could actually turn them into a buttery cookie crust for these lemon raspberry cheesecake bars.
Simply pulse the cookies and melted butter in a food processor and press into a pan to bake and become extra crunchy.
Now we can move on to the star of the show: cheesecake filling.
The cheesecake base
While this is a pretty basic cheesecake using cream cheese, we’re also using pure maple syrup in place of any additional sugar.
I also added in a little twist to pump up that tart lemon flavor: honey goat cheese.
WAIT!
Before you stop reading because goat cheese just sounds too out there, hear me out.
It adds a perfect creamy tang to the cheesecake, but with the honey flavor, it plays super nicely with the raspberry swirl.
Speaking of which, there’s another star to this lemon raspberry cheesecake show: the raspberry swirl.
The raspberry cheesecake swirl
If it weren’t for the sweet, creamy raspberry swirl, I might say the goat cheese in the base steals the show.
But sweet fresh raspberries combined with some additional pure maple syrup just takes these bars from “that was a good movie” to “OMG, I NEED to see that again!”
Fresh raspberries were on major sale the other week, and I couldn’t help but buy a whole bunch of boxes.
It took all my willpower not to eat all the sweet red jewels before they made it into the cheesecake.
They were definitely giving me life when it was snowing the other week. Popping raspberries in my mouth took me back to summer days, and these lemon raspberry cheesecake bars will do just that for you too!
One bite and you’re ready for an encore
These lemon raspberry cheesecake bars and thick, creamy and melt in your mouth. It’s too hard to take just one bite.
And that cookie crust! It’s just so crunchy and creates the perfect contrast to the silky smooth filling.
All players in this sweet film hold their own, but are even better when they work together. They definitely know how to get the crowd asking for an encore.
Looking for more Spring ready desserts? Check these out:
Lemon Raspberry No-Bake Cheesecake
Fresh Fruit Salsa with homemade Cinnamon Sugar Pitas
- 1 {10.1 oz} package lemon oreos
- 4 Tbsp. melted butter
- 2 {8 oz} packages lite cream cheese softened
- 1 {4 oz} log honey goat cheese softened
- ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
- Zest of 1 lemon
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1 {6 oz} box fresh raspberries
- 1 {8 oz} package lite cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
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Preheat oven to 350°F and grease an 8” x 8” pan with baking spray.
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In a food processor, add all of the crust ingredients and blend until cookies are broken down.
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Press the mixture into the prepared pan in an even layer. Bake for 10-15 minutes until edges are golden brown. Remove and let cool completely.* Turn the oven down to 325°F.
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Meanwhile, in a medium-size bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the goat cheese, and continue to beat until combined and smooth.
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Add the lemon juice, zest, maple syrup and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Pour the mixture into the cooled cookie crust.
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In a medium-size bowl, beat together the raspberry swirl ingredients until smooth.
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Dollop 6 scoops of the raspberry cheesecake on top of the plain cheesecake. Take a knife and swirl it through the raspberry filling to spread it out.
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Bake for 75-78 minutes, until cheesecake starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, and is set in the center.
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Remove and let cool. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 5-8 hours.
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Slice into 9 bars and enjoy!
*Note: place in the freezer for 10 minutes if you need to chill faster.
