Not Really Cheesecake

I had a much different vision of what these squares would be like.

The crumb mixture turns out like a thick oatmeal cookie. The bottom crust stays intact nicely and provides a wonderful base for the filling.

The top crust, although the same mixture, does not stick together quite as much. This provides the squares with a lovely crumb topping.

The filling is super simple. Just three ingredients. Although I am really not sure why the recipe calls it cheesecake. It isn’t.

It does have the smooth feel of a cheesecake. More like a no bake cheesecake in consistency.

Not having cream cheese, I was surprised how creamy it tasted.

And the lemon juice and rind give the filling a lovely citrus punch.

So while I think the name of the recipe is a little misleading, the squares are certainly worth making!

CHEESECAKE SQUARES

15 Ounce Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/2 Cup Lemon Juice

1 Tablespoon Grated Lemon Rind

2/3 Cup Shortening

1 Cup Packed Brown Sugar

1 3/4 Cups All Purpose Flour

1/2 Teaspoon baking Soda

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 1/2 Cups Quick Cooking Rolled Oats

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Blend milk, juice, and rind until thickened. Mix shortening and sugar. Sift dry ingredients and blend into shortening mixture. Blend in oats. Place half the crumb mixture into a greased 13x9 inch pan. Press and flatten with hands to cover the bottom of the pan. Spread with lemon filling. Cover with remaining crumb mixture. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.