Lemon Cheesecake Creme Brulee Bars and an Earthquake!

Earthquake!  Monday mornings are difficult enough but all of us in the San Francisco area were awakened by a jolt at 5am this morning.  The earthquake was a 4.0 magnitude and nothing too serious but big enough to jolt us all awake and keep me from being able to fall back to sleep.  It will surely be a very looooong and sleepy Monday.

Since I'm awake I will share with you a yummy dessert I made this weekend.  I have been dying to try these Lemon Cheesecake Creme Brulee Bars ever since I first saw them on Lauren's Latest.  They looked sinful and delicious, two of my favorite qualities in a dessert.

I had  a lot of lemons just waiting to be used up so this recipe was perfect.  The base is super easy to make and the filling is the easiest cheesecake filling you can imagine.  Fabulous lemon flavor but certainly not overpowering and the sweetened condensed milk sweetens it and makes the filling so creamy but does not make the dessert overly sweet at all.  It is a no-fail recipe for sure.

My favorite part of the recipe was getting to use my kitchen torch!  I love to torch things!!!  These bars are fabulous as is and certainly do not need to be bruleed (is that a real word?) but I love how they look with their crackly tops once you burn the thin layer of sugar.  If you do not have a kitchen torch and really want this effect, just stick them under the broiler for a very short time and then pop them back in the refrigerator to keep the bars firm.

Delicious!!  Hope you all have a fabulous and earthquake-free day!

Lemon Cheesecake Creme Brulee Bars

1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1-14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons lemon zest
6 tablespoons lemon juice
5 tablespoons fine granulated sugar for brulee

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8×8 glass dish with parchment paper and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. In large bowl, combine butter, sugar, flour and vanilla until dough forms. Press evenly into the bottom of prepared dish. Set aside. In another bowl, whip cream cheese. Stir in sweetened condensed milk. Scrape sides and mix again. Pour in egg, lemon zest and juice. Mix until mixture starts to thicken, 20-30 seconds. Scrape sides and mix again briefly. Pour over the cookie bottom and smooth the top. Bake 20-25 minutes or until cheesecake is set completely. Cool, then refrigerate. Cut into 16 squares and separate. Sprinkle the tops of each square with 1 teaspoon of sugar and spread around with finger to evenly distribute sugar. Torch the tops until the sugar melts and turns an amber color. {If you don’t have a torch, place under the broiler}. Return squares to fridge until ready to serve.

Recipe by http://www.laurenslatest.com/