No Bake Woolworth Cheesecake is a classic, light and lemony dessert and will be the perfect addition to your Easter or Mother’s Day menu!
I love those recipes that we all grew up with, they are just too good to miss out on.
Woolworth’s Cheesecake
A while back, a family friend asked me if I had the recipe for Woolworth’s cheesecake. I didn’t even remember that anybody even told me they had a cheesecake, so I surely didn’t have the recipe. Anyway, that of course provoked me to launch an internet search for the recipe. Now I can’t be certain if this is the actual recipe… there are a lot of them out there, but this is the one I tried.
The first time I made it, I thought “wow… this is a LOT of dessert”… So invited some friends over and shared it with them.
I kind of regretted it afterwards…..
Well, because it was so amazing.
Now while this is called “cheesecake”… it’s really not. Not by a long shot…
I would rename it “Lemon Fluff Dessert” or “Lemon Fluff Ice Box” something, but it is really, really delicious. And for lemon lovers who are looking for light (not in calories, but in filling) dessert for a spring get-together, this is it!
No Bake Cheesecake
Which makes it perfect for a warmer weather, so you don’t have to heat up your house by turning on your oven for hours. It just sets up in the fridge. And you can even make this a day or two in advance and just let it hang out in the fridge until you are ready to serve it.
The Cheesecake Graham Crackers base
I especially like the graham cracker crust on this dessert, it is simply wonderful. Alternatives for a graham cracker crust could be a vanilla sandwich cookie crumbs crust, or vanilla wafer crust. But the graham crackers crust is so easy and it tastes great, there’s really no need to change it.
Cheesecake(Lemon Fluff) Filling
The easiest part! The ingredients in the cheesecake filling are simply cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice (this really gives it a special touch), lemon jell-o (for stability – keeps it fluffy) and evaporated milk.
While rich, it has a slightly aerated texture which is quite different from a New York cheesecake which is much denser and calls for twice as much cream cheese as this recipe!
TIP: I have made this with the chilled evaporated milk and also with heavy whipping cream. I couldn’t tell much difference in the texture or taste. Use either one you have on hand. The biggest trick is remembering to chill the can milk and that’s what led me to try it out with whipping cream.
No Bake Classic Woolworth Cheesecake
No Bake Woolworth Cheesecake is a classic, light and lemony dessert and will be the perfect addition to your Easter or Mother’s Day menu!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 3oz lemon Jell-0
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 box graham cracker crumbs (3 cups) more for thicker crust divided
- 1 stick melted butter
- 1 8oz cream cheese
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 5 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 can evaporated milk, well chilled or 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
INSTRUCTIONS
- Dissolve Jell-O in boiling water. Cool until slightly thickened.
- Mix 3/4 graham cracker crumbs and melted butter until well blended, press into bottom of the 9 X 13 pan to form a crust. Save rest of crumbs to sprinkle on top of dessert.
- Beat the Evaporated milk/heavy cream until fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and lemon juice with mixer until smooth.
- Add thickened Jell-O and slowly mix in whipped evaporated milk.
- Spread filling over the crust and sprinkle with reserved graham cracker crumbs on top.
- Chill at least 2 hours and up to overnight, store covered in refrigerator.