Strawberry Lemonade Dream Bars
servings
Enjoy your favorite summer drink in these creamy no bake Strawberry Lemonade Dream Bars with sweet strawberries and fresh lemon juice! A strawberry cream layer on lemon cheesecake, and Nilla wafer crust will have your taste buds singing!
Ingredients
- 16 ounces Cool Whip (2) 8 oz. tubs, divided or 2 recipes of my Stabilized Whipped Cream, divided
- 16 ounces strawberries washed, hulled and diced small. Plus additional for serving, if desired.
Nilla Wafer Crust
- 3 cups Nilla Wafer Cookie Crumbs about 90 cookies
- 10 tablespoons butter
Strawberry Cream Layer
- 7 ounces package strawberry jello (2) 3.5 ounce packages
- 1 ½ cups boiling water
- 1 ½ cups cold water
- 16 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 4 cups Cool Whip
Cheesecake Layer
- 12 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest plus some set aside for garnish, if desired
- 1 ½ cups Cool Whip
- remaining ½ cup Cool Whip, Stabilized Whipped Cream or canned whipped cream for serving if desired
- additional strawberries for serving if desired
Instructions
Nilla Wafer Crust
- Prepare a 9 X 13-inch baking pan by spraying it lightly with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, melt the 10 tablespoons of butter in a microwave for about 30 seconds. Stir and melt for another 5-10 seconds, if necessary.
- In a food processor, pulse the Nilla Wafers until they are fine crumbs. Add the cookie crumbs to the melted butter and mix with a rubber spatula until all is well incorporated.
- Pour into the prepared baking dish and spread, pressing down to create an even crust. Place pan into the freezer while preparing the rest of the recipe for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Strawberry Gelatin
- Into a large bowl, mix the strawberry gelatin with 1 1/2 cups boiling water. Stir until dissolved. Add the 1 1/2 cups cold water and stir. Place into refrigerator until completely cooled, but not set - about 10 minutes.
Strawberry Cream Layer
- In a mixing bowl, beat 16 ounces of the cream cheese until smooth.
- Using a ladle, slowly add in the chilled gelatin mix while mixing everything together. This could take 8-10 minutes depending on how slowly you add it and how well incorporated you want it. The more slowly you pour in the gelatin, the smoother the mixture will be without any lumps of cream cheese. Once completely smooth, place into refrigerator to chill and thicken for one hour. *See Note.
Lemon Cheesecake Layer
- In another large mixing bowl, beat another 12 ounces of cream cheese, the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest together until smooth and creamy. With a rubber spatula, fold in 1 1/2 cups of the Cool Whip.
- Place dollops of cheesecake mixture onto the frozen crust and with an offset spatula, spread to form an even layer.
Fresh Strawberries
- Scatter the diced strawberries evenly over the top of the cheesecake layer.
Strawberry Cream Layer - continued
- After the Strawberry Cream mixture has been refrigerated for an hour, fold in 4 cups of the Cool Whip with a rubber spatula, combining until evenly distributed and smooth.
- Gently pour the strawberry cream over the strawberries and cheesecake layer and spread evenly with an offset spatula.
- Place into the refrigerator for a minimum of 6 hours, but best if refrigerated overnight.
- When slicing, run a large knife under hot water, dry off, and then slice through the bars, repeating with each cut. This will help make clean cuts.
- Serve with dollops of additional Cool Whip or my Stabilized Whipped Cream, fresh strawberries, and lemon zest.
Notes
- Use the amounts of water in this recipe required to mix the strawberry gelatin. DO NOT use the amounts listed in the box instructions. We want a more stable gelatin and less of it.
- If strawberry cream mixture is left in the refrigerator for more than one hour, the gelatin will harden and form. This isn't an issue unless you want a completely creamy layer for the top with NO raspberry or red gelatin specks.
- Images in post depict half of the recipe, so the cheesecake and strawberry cream layers may be thinner when made in a 9 X 13-inch pan.
- Know that if you divide this recipe in half to make in an 8 X 8 or 9 X 9-inch pan that there may be some of the Strawberry Cream Layer that won't fit. But that's ok! It's delicious eaten on it's own with a bit of whipped cream.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 456kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 302mg | Potassium: 170mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 874IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 103mg | Iron: 0.2mg