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Top down shot of a key lime cheesecake bar on a speckled plate with a lime on top and next to it and two vanilla wafers on the other side.

Key Lime Cheesecake Bars

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  • Author: Erin Jensen
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 24 servings 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Oven + Refrigerator
  • Cuisine: American

Description

Key Lime Cheesecake Bars – a delicious key lime cheesecake bar recipe that is a little lighter and fluffier than your classic version!


Ingredients

Scale

Crust:

  • 4 cup vanilla wafers, crushed
  • 1 cup butter, melted

Filling:

  • 8oz cream cheese, softened
  • 14oz sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/3 cup fresh key lime juice
  • zest of 1 key lime
  • 8oz cool whip

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
  2. Prepare a 9×13 pan by lining it with parchment, ensuring the parchment folds over the sides to allow for easily removal of the bars. 
  3. Combine vanilla wafers and butter in a medium-sized bowl; use a fork to combine. 
  4. Pour out wafer mixture into prepared pan. Spread out evenly and use your hands to press down firmly to create a crust. Place in oven, middle rack, and let bake 15 minutes. Remove and let cool. Set aside. 
  5. In a large mixing bowl add softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk. Use a whisk to combine until smooth (it’s okay if there are still very small chunks of cream cheese).
  6. Add lime juice and lime zest. Whisk to combine. 
  7. Add cool whip and use a large spatula to fold in the cool whip gently – you don’t want to stir or the cool whip will lose some of this volume. 
  8. Pour out cool whip mixture on top of the crust. Spread out evenly. 
  9. Place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours – preferably overnight. 
  10. Cut into squares and serve. 

Notes

  • Storage: cover pan with foil and place in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.  For freezing, wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe container and store in the freezer for up to a month.
  • Dairy-Free: you can use plant-based butter and sweetened condensed coconut milk in place of the regular sweetened condensed milk.
  • Gluten-Free: you can sub gluten-free graham crackers for the vanilla wafers. 

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 square
  • Calories: 179
  • Sugar: 11.9 g
  • Sodium: 61.1 mg
  • Fat: 13.7 g
  • Carbohydrates: 12.5 g
  • Protein: 2.3 g
  • Cholesterol: 35.7 mg