Mom's Cheesecake Cookie Bars

Recipe View Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). (5 minutes)

Recipe View In a large bowl, combine flour, walnuts, cold cubed butter, and brown sugar. Use a pastry blender or your fingers to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (10 minutes)

Recipe View Press half of the crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking pan. (5 minutes)

Recipe View Bake the crust in the preheated oven until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and leave the oven on. (15 minutes)

Recipe View In a separate large bowl, beat softened cream cheese and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. (5 minutes)

Recipe View Add eggs, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract to the cream cheese mixture. Mix until just combined. Be careful not to overmix. (3 minutes)

Recipe View Pour the cream cheese filling over the baked crust. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture evenly over the top. (2 minutes)

Recipe View Bake in the preheated oven until the filling is set and the top is lightly golden, about 25 minutes. (25 minutes)

Recipe View Let the bars cool completely in the pan before cutting into squares. For best results, chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving. (120 minutes)