Coconut Lime Cheesecake Bars

Last week, my mom posted a pin on Pinterest of a recipe for Coconut Lime Cheesecake Bars. Right when I saw it, I knew I had to make them! Coconut and cheesecake are two of my favorite things, so combining them sounded so heavenly! I made them yesterday and they turned out pretty great! I'm posting the recipe on here to share and for future reference.

 

Coconut Lime Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients:

Crust-

1 pkg. sugar cookie mix, unprepared

2 Tbsp. flour

1/3 c. butter, softened

1 egg

Filling-

2 pkgs. (8 oz.) cream cheese

1 can (16 oz.) cream of coconut

3 Tbsp. lime juice

1 tsp. coconut extract

2 eggs

Frosting-

1 pkg. cream cheese

2 Tbsp. butter

1 tsp. coconut extract

1 Tbsp. lime juice

2 c. powdered sugar

Topping-

1 1/4 c. toasted coconut

2 Tbsp. lime peel (optional)

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bottom and sides of 9x13 pan with cooking spray.

In large bowl, combine crust ingredients until soft dough forms. Press evenly into bottom of pan. Bake 15-17 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Cool for 15 minutes. 

While crust is baking, in large bowl, beat cream cheese for 1 minute. Slowly add cream of coconut until well blended. Stir in lime juice and coconut extract. Add eggs, one at a time, until smooth. Spread over crust. Bake 40-45 minutes or until set and golden brown around edges. Cool 20 minutes at room temperature, then refrigerate for 1 hour. 

In another bowl, blend together cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add coconut extract and lime juice. Slowly add powdered sugar until well blended. Carefully spread frosting over cheesecake layer. Sprinkle with toasted coconut and lime peel. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before cutting into bars. Store in refrigerator.