Fluffy Lemon Cheesecake

Crust:
32 graham crackers squares (16 full sheets)
2 TSBP powdered sugar
1/2 cup margarine/butter, melted

Crush graham crackers to desired consistency. I prefer mine to be in larger pieces for this recipe...so I crush them in a plastic bag with the rolling pin rather than with the food chopper.

Add margarine and powdered sugar. Line the bottom of a 9x13 pan with HALF of the mixture. Set the remaining crust mixture aside.

Filling:
2 pkgs (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 small pkg lemon Jello
1 cup water

Add water to Jello and heat in microwave for 3 minutes. Stir until dissolved, and allow to cool to room temperature.

In the meantime, pour evaporated milk into a medium sized bowl -and trust me...choose one a little bigger than you think you'll need! Detach your beater(s) from your mixer and place it/them in the bowl, partially immersing it/them in the evaporated milk. Place in the freezer for 30 min or until evaporated milk starts to crystallize.

If you have a handmixer and a countertop one...you can do this step while the evap milk is in the freezer and Jello is cooling. If not, skip this step and come back to the cream cheese after you're finished with the evaporated milk. Combine 2 softened cream cheeses in your countertop mixer and beat until smooth. Add sugar and whip until smooth. Once at room temperature, add Jello to cream cheese mixture gradually. Add 1/4 of the mixture, and beat until mixed. Repeat until finished.

Once your evap milk has crystallized, remove it from the freezer and reattach beaters to your mixer. Whip until stiff (took mine about 3 min and nearly outgrew the bowl before my eyes!).

Fold whipped evaporated milk into lemon/cream cheese mixture by hand with rubber spatula. Do not overbeat.

Pour over crust. Top with remaining crumbs.

Refridgerate (or freeze) for at least 2 hours before eating. Best when chilled overnight and served the next day.

Comments from the cook: Hello, springtime! This is the perfect dessert to usher in a season of light and fluffy desserts...when we bid farewell to hot fudge for a few months. :)

As you can see, this recipe requires a bit of choreography! If you have two mixers, you can do two things at once...which saves a few minutes. If you don't have two mixers, just finish with the evaporated milk, set it aside, and then work on the cream cheese mixture.

I cheated and added a few drops of yellow food coloring, because mine didn't look quite as yellow as my mom's does. Next time, I will probably add 2 lemon Jello packets to bump up the flavor. And if you're not a fan of lemon, try another Jello flavor! I'm sure strawberry or raspberry would be fantastic, and orange might even be tasty.

I used one low-fat and one fat-free cream cheese. I also used fat-free evaporated milk and my lemon Jello was sugar-free. Certainly full-sugar and full-fat ingredients will taste a LOT better, but this combo slashes the calories and fat. More guilt-free!

Originally shared by my Grandma Tibbitts.