Thursday, May 1, 2008

'Lite' Cheesecake

I say "Lite" not really meaning light in calories, but light as in, not as dense.
I must say that I LOVE cheesecake...heavy, dense cheesecake is WONDERFUL! This is just a lighter version of cheesecake. It's the same flavor, just lighter & fluffier.
This recipe only uses 1 package of cream cheese & a 9X13 pan; and 'real' cheesecake uses anywhere from 2-4 packages of cream cheese, & you have to use a spring form pan.

This is what I'd call po' folk cheesecake...LOL
or maybe just "Lite" cheesecake. It's fluffier than real cheesecake, & it is very good. If you make this, you may be fighting over who gets the last piece! :)




**This recipe calls for 1 can of evaporated milk. It is really important to chill it in the frig at least for a few hours. I always put my can of milk in the night before. It whips up so much nicer if it's really cold.**


"LITE" CHEESECAKE


1 small box of lemon Jell-O
1 c. boiling water
1 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese
1 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
30 graham crackers
1 stick butter
2 TBLS. powdered sugar

1 can evaporated milk

Step 1: Stir together the jello & boiling water until completely dissolved & set aside to cool.

Step 2: Cream together the cream cheese, sugar, & vanilla & set aside.


Step 3: Roll 30 graham crackers in a big zip-lock bag till crumbly. I should say that this is 30 of the square crackers...half of the larger rectangle crackers.
Melt the stick of butter. Add the powdered sugar & graham cracker crumbs & stir till crumbly. Pat into the bottom of a 9X13 pan. You can save about 1/2 cup of crumbs to sprinkle on the top if you'd like (I always forget lol).


Step 4: Combine the cream cheese mixture & the cooled jello water. Then in a mixer, whip the cold can of evaporated milk ( I use Carnation or Milnot) until it is nice & fluffy. Fold into the mixture of jello & cream cheese. Gently pour over crumb mixture. Sprinkle left over crumbs on top. Chill for several hours or over night.


I'm sorry, but you have to stay out of it until it sets up.


Enjoy!!!!

5-2-08 edited to add:

I forgot to mention that you can play with the flavors on this. You can use different types of Jello (altho my mom says that it's not quite the same).
I have a box of tropical pineapple I might try.
Also I was thinking of sometime using chocolate graham crackers & maybe cherry or strawberry jello. Yum!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

This is what we call "Granny's Cheesecake!" It was a dessert my dad's mom made often. It's one of his favorite (and my brother's). SOOO good and flavorful. And it really is lite...in taste, texture, and (probably) nutritionals...at least when compared to others!

Jane said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jane said...

Hi Claire!
Yeah, it does have to be lighter in calories because of using so much less cream cheese, doesn't it?
:)
And, I actually call it "Mom's Cheesecake", I grew up eating this cheesecake before I ever knew what 'real' cheesecake tasted like!
And, have you ever tried it with different flavors of Jello? I edited the post to say you can use different flavors. I'm thinking chocolate graham crackers & strawberry jello.