Lime Cheesecake Bars

I found a recipe for 3 layer lemon cheesecake bars awhile ago, and thought they would be fun to make. BUT I didn't have them lemons or the Nilla wafer cookies the recipe called for. So I made up my own recipe. These are SUPER rich!! But they are delicious. One tiny piece is enough. The original recipe also had white chocolate chips in the cookie layer part - I'm glad I skipped it- it would have been too much.

Crust:
2 cups of gingersnap cookie crumbs (I  only had 1 and 3/4, so I used 1/4 c graham cracker crumbs)
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c butter, melted

Line a 9x13 dish with parchment paper or tinfoil. Mix the crumbs, sugar and butter. Then press firmly into the pan to make a crust.

Cheesecake filling:
2 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened at room temp.
3/4 c sugar
2 large eggs
2 limes, juice and zest

Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Mine had previously been frozen- that makes it curdle- it ends up a little gritty. But it still worked. Add the eggs, sugar, lime juice and zest. Mix well and pour over cookie crust.

Cookie topping layer:
3/4 c butter, softened
1 1/2 c sugar
1 egg
3/4 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 lime, juice and zest
2 cup flour

Beat the butter and sugar until smooth, Add the egg, vanilla, baking powder, lime juice and zest. Mix until combined. Add flour. Mix well. Drop spoonfuls onto the cheesecake layer, doing your best to spread the dough to cover the cheesecake layer.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 min. or until the top is lightly browned.  Cook completely and chill overnight - or freeze. These are best served cold. I cooled mine in the fridge and then cut them into 40 squares and put them in the freezer for later. I took some of them to the neighborhood Fourth of July BBQ.

You can see flecks of lime zest in the bars! 

Yield 40 servings approx. 150-155 calories each (depends on the gingersnap cookies used. To get the full 2 cups I would have needed 40 cookies and they were 120 cal for 5.)  I www.caloriecount.com to calculate the calories.