The hardest part when making these bars is waiting for them to chill. They really are easy to prepare and require no baking at all. Best of all, they are delicious.
Crust:
2 c. graham cracker crumbs from about 12 whole crackers
pinch of salt
¼ c. packed light or dark brown sugar
6 T. unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature for 60-90 minutes
14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
½ c. freshly squeezed lime juice (or bottled Key Lime juice)
1 T. lime zest
1 c. heavy whipping cream
a bit of green food coloring for more lime color, optional
Topping:
Cool Whip
lime slices or lime zest, for garnish
Crust:
Crush graham crackers in a large ziplock bag with a rolling pin, or pulse in a food processor.
Line a 9 x 13" pan with parchment paper to easily lift the bars out later and transfer to a cutting board for slicing. The bars aren’t extremely firm so an extra set of hands to lift them out of the pan would be helpful.
Combine graham cracker crumbs, salt, brown sugar and melted butter. Press into prepared pan. Chill in the refrigerator while preparing filling.
Filling:
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth with a hand-held mixer or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Add sweetened condensed milk, lime juice and lime zest; mix until smooth.
In another bowl, beat heavy whipping cream to stiff peaks; gently fold into cream cheese mixture in 2 additions, mixing until just combined. Spread evenly on top of the graham cracker crust.
Chill in the refrigerator 4 hours or overnight.
Lift bars out of pan by grabbing the parchment paper; transfer to a cutting board to slice into 12 bars. For clean slices, run a sharp knife under hot water and dry with a towel between each slice.
Serve topped with Cool Whip and lime slices or lime zest.
12 servings.
*It will keep if refrigerated for up to a week inside an airtight container.