Cheesecake-Style Lime Squares

My husband is not a sweets guy. Once in a while he'll eat cheesecake, caramel brownies, and he loves peanut butter ice cream, but other than that, you are hard pressed to get him to eat dessert. When the latest Clean Eating magazine arrived in the mail, I saw this recipe for cheesecake style lime squares and knew they would be right up his alley. Since they were from CE, I knew they wouldn't be too sweet. And lime + cheesecake is a match made in his heaven.



These definitely lived up to our expectations, and he loved them! The lime adds a bright flavor to the tangy cheesecake base, and I was right - they aren't too sweet. Just perfect for us.

Cheesecake-Style Lime Squares

Source: Slightly adapted from Clean Eating Magazine, June 2012, page 39
Yield: 16 squares
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes, plus 8 hours to chill

 

Ingredients

• 14 all natural whole-wheat graham cracker squares (or 7 rectangular sheets)
• 3 tablespoons organic unsalted butter, melted
• 8 ounces light cream cheese
• 1 cup low-fat sour cream (or plain greek yogurt)
• 1/2 cup organic evaporated cane juice
• 1 tablespoon lime zest (from about 2 limes), plus additional for garnish
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
• 1 large egg

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 inch square baking dish with parchment paper, leaving 2 to 3 inches hanging over 2 opposing sides.
2. In a food processor, process graham crackers into fine crumbs.  With machine running, pour butter through feed tube and process until just combined, 2 to 3 seconds.  Transfer mixture to baking dish and press into bottom with your hands to form an even layer.  Bake until edges are very light brown, about 9 minutes.  Transfer to wire rack. 
3. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.  Wipe out food processor  and add cream cheese and sour cream or yogurt; process until smooth, about 1 minute.  Add cane juice and lime zest and juice.  Pulse, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, until combined.  Add egg and pulse until just combined.  Spread mixtures evenly over top of graham cracker crust and bake until edges are just set and center is still moist and slightly jiggly, 38 to 40 minutes. 
4. Transfer to wire rack and let rest for 10 minutes.  Run a thin knife along the edges of dish to loosen.  Let cool to room temperature.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.  Transfer cheesecake to cutting board by lifting edges of parchment.  Garnish with additional lime zest and slice into 16 squares.  Serve chilled.  After slicing, squares will keep refrigerated for 1 day.