No Bake Lemon Cheesecake - For the Lazy Baker

Some of you might know that I’m not much of a cook, I can however bake. So whenever I have to go to a potluck, I’m usually the first to volunteer to bring a dessert. At @foodkarmablog’s recent Street Eats themed potluck, I opted to bring my no bake lemon cheesecakes, since they’re small, easy to eat and could potentially be something sold from a dessert food truck.

A few tips and tricks for you:

• Ensure you buy lemon Jello and NOT lemon pudding. Sometimes at the grocery store the packages look the same and they stock the wrong item in the wrong place.
• Let the cream cheese sit out on the counter for about an hour before you use it to make sure it reaches room temperature. This makes for a much smoother cheesecake.
• Once you’ve combined the lemon Jello with hot water, make sure you let it sit until its room temperature or else you will wind up cooking the cream cheese. If you don’t have the time or patience to let it cool naturally, just stick it in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

Lemon Cheese Cake
Makes 24

Pie Crust
2 ½ cups graham crumbs
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup margarine

1.    Line 24 moofin tins with medium sized moofin liners. It’s essential you use moofin tins or something else solid that will help the muffin liners keep it’s shape, or else you will wind up with a puddle of lemon cheesecake filling.
2.    Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and margarine together in a bowl.
3.    Divide the crust mixture evening amongst the 24 moofin tins and press down firmly, ensuring there are no cracks or holes the filling can seep into.

Filling
3 ounces Lemon Jello (ie. One package)
1 cup boiling water
8 ounces cream cheese (ie. One package - Room Temperature)
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk

1.    Combine boiling water and lemon Jello, mix well, set aside and let it cool down to room temperature.
2.    Cream the cream cheese in a bowl with a spatula or fork until there are no lumps and it’s easy to manipulate.
3.    Add the sugar and mix well using a KitchenAid or hand mixer (use the whip attachment).
4.    Add the milk a little at a time to the cream cheese and sugar mixture, beating well and making sure it’s all smoothly incorporated before adding more.
5.    Finally pour in the cooled lemon Jello mixture and beat until smooth.
6.    Pour or spoon the filling evenly over your 24 graham cracker crusts.
7.    Put in the fridge and let set overnight.
8.    Eat and enjoy!

More photos at Photobucket!