Merry Cherry Cheesecake

Here’s a delicous recipe from the Eat, Shrink, and be Merry ladies that you WON’T find in the cookbook!  Some very good, light, cheescake!

• 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
•  ½ tsp ground cinnamon 
• 3 tbsp butter, melted 
• 2 pkgs  Philadelphia light cream cheese (not fat free) 
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 
• 2 cups light sour cream (not fat free) 
• 1 can low-fat sweetened condensed milk 
• Grated zest of one lemon 
• 2 cans each light cherry pie filling 

To make crust, combine graham crumbs and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add melted butter and stir using a fork until crumbs are moistened. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Press crumb mixture firmly and evenly over bottom of dish. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling. The make filling, beat together cream cheese and lemon juice on high speed of electric mixer until smooth. Add sour cream, sweetened condensed milk, and lemon zest. Beat again until well mixed. Pour filling over prepared crust and spread to edges of pan. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours. Spread cherry pie filling over cream-cheese mixture. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cooking Tips: Take the cream cheese out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you make the cake. It’s easier to beat cream cheese if it isn’t cold. Don’t omit the lemon juice from this recipe—it’s what makes the filling “set.” (If you leave it out, the filling will be runny.) Don’t forget to grate the zest from the lemon before cutting it in half to squeeze out the juice.

Makes 18 cheesecake squares