There is something about this dessert that takes my mind back to summer in the Deep South, with ladies in hoop-skirted dresses languishing in the patches of shade under the live oak trees, sipping sweet tea and eating this sublime treat.

But it doesn’t really matter where you live, this dessert is refreshing like a cool breeze on a swelteringly hot day. You will roll that lemony goodness around on your tongue, savoring its tartness, before releasing it and allowing the silky whiteness to bathe your mouth in sugared sweetness, with just a hint of tang from cream cheese.

As for that mystery ingredient? Well, you’ll just have to read the recipe, now, won’t you?

 

INGREDIENTS

Lemon Layer

1 Tbsp. lemon zest

¾ cup fresh lemon juice (from 3-4 lemons)

2 cups sugar

½ cup plus 1 Tbsp. cornstarch

¾ tsp. salt

2 cups cold water

3 Tbsp. butter

8 drops yellow food coloring

 

Vanilla Crust

3 cups crushed vanilla wafer cookies (about 5 cups whole cookies)

7 Tbsp. butter, melted

 

White Chocolate Layer

1 cup white chocolate chips

2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened

1 ½ cups powdered sugar

1 cup cool whip, thawed

Dash salt

 

DIRECTIONS

Grab 3-4 medium-sized lemons. Zest the outside of 1-2 lemons, equaling 1 tablespoon of zest.

Squeeze the juice from all of the lemons into a measuring cup. You need ¾ cup lemon juice, total. Set the juice and zest aside.

Into a medium-sized sauce pan place 2 cups sugar, ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch and ¾ teaspoon salt. Toss the ingredients around a bit to combine, pour 2 cups cold water over the top and stir well to combine.

Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat, stirring continually. Once it is bubbling up, let it cook for 1 minute. Keep stirring, it will be pretty thick.

Remove the pan from the heat and add 3 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, 3/4 cup lemon juice and 8 drops of food coloring, Stir it well, making sure all ingredients are well combined. Set it aside to cool completely.

To make the crust, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Toss about 5 cups of vanilla wafer cookies into a food processor or blender. I use my handy Ninja blender. If you don’t have a machine like this to do the work for you, just place the cookies into a Ziploc bag, close it tightly and then beat the heck out of it with a rolling pin.

Pour the crumbs into a medium-sized mixing bowl and pour 7 tablespoons of melted butter on top, Stir it well to incorporate.

Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray and pour the crumbs into it. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan.

Pop it in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until the crumbs are slightly golden brown. Let the pan cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the white chocolate layer, toss 1 cup white chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl. Melt the chips for 30 seconds, then stir. Heat them again for 30 seconds, then stir. Repeat until the chocolate is soft and melted. Now, just a word of caution. White chocolate can be temperamental. If you get it too hot, or if any liquid comes into contact with it…it will harden up on you. It’s best to be patient and heat it up just a little bit at a time.

Into your stand mixer, or medium-sized mixing bowl, place 2 packages of softened cream cheese. Beat it until it is nice and smooth.

Add 1 cup Cool Whip and mix well. Gently fold a little of this mixture into the melted white chocolate and combine, then gently fold in the rest, a little at a time.

When the crust has cooled completely, drop the white chocolate filling carefully into the pan and spread it out evenly with a knife.

When the lemon filling is completely cool, pour it over the white chocolate layer.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours. Overnight would be even better. You want the lemon layer to have time to set up nicely for you.

 

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Quick Tip:  When making crumbs out of the vanilla wafers using a Ziploc bag and rolling pin, use a large bag and only do about a cup at a time, rolling them gently under the rolling pin until they break down. Then remove them to a bowl.  If the bag is too small, or if you are too enthusiastic with the rolling pin, you will cause the bag to pop open and you will have crumbs all over your kitchen!

Recipe and photo courtesy of Jamie at jamiecooksitup.net