Coconut Lime Bars

By Susan52

Ingredients

• Crust
• 5 ounces animal crackers
• 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• Filling
• 2 ounces cream cheese , room temperature
• 1 tablespoon grated lime zest
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (don't be tempted to use bottled lime juice)
• Topping
• 3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut , toasted until golden and crisp

Details

Preparation time 25mins

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Foil line your 8 by 8 pan, lightly spray with oil spray. Set aside.

For crust, combine animal crackers, brown sugar and salt in a food processor, pulse until all pieces of cookies are finely ground. Add melted butter and pulse 3-4 times until it resembles coarse sand.

Pour mixture into foiled lined pan and press down firmly and evenly using a bottom of a measuring cup. Bake until crust is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool while making the filling.

Using a hand held mixer in a medium speed, mix softened cream cheese and condensed milk until just combined, add lime zest, salt, and egg yolk until incorporated. Using a rubber spatular, add lime juice and fold in until combined.

Pour filling into the prepared crust and bake until just set, about 15-18 minutes, longer if doubling or tripling the recipe (cover loosely with foil if top is getting too brown). Cool to room temperature and then chill, covered in refrigerator, 2 or more hours.

Using the foiled edges, gently lift the cheesecake out of the pan, cut into 16 squares, top with toasted shredded coconut flakes and serve.