Lemon Pistachio Cheesecake Bars

I was so excited when I found this recipe and I even more so when I was able to make these bad boys.

Not only is it as delicious as it sounds, but its super simple to make and its a no bake recipe so that's just awesome. The only down side is having to wait for these to set in the fridge because I just wanted to eat them right away. So please, if you love lemon and pistachios or even if you don't; try this recipe. You are going to love these. They are sweet and the hint of lemon zest in the mix gives it the perfect kick. 

So, for this you will need:

For the Crust:

5oz of Unsalted Pistachios

1 cup of Graham Crackers

3oz of Unsalted Butter

3/4 cup of chopped toasted hazelnuts

For the Filling:

2 packs of Cream Cheese

1 cup of Sweetened Condensed Milk

Zest of 1 lemon

To Get Started:

Add the pistachios into a food processor and process them until they are a fine crumb. Once they are crushed, add the graham crackers into the processor until they graham crackers and pistachios are a fine crumb. Then add your butter into the food processor (make sure it's melted!), and blend until your mix is damp and has a sandy feel to it. 

Once that is all done, grease a pan that is either a rectangle or square to give them a bar shape at the end. Add the sandy mixture to the pan and lightly press it either with the back of a spoon or with the palm of your hand and cover the bottom of the pan and up the sides of the pan. Make sure that the bottom is completely covered and no pan is showing. Then, place the pan in the refrigerator for at least 25 minutes. 

For the Filling:

Beat the cream cheese, zest of one lemon and condensed milk until it is all smooth and well combined.

Take the pan out of the fridge, and carefully add the lemon cheesecake mix until it covers the base of the pan and it is all smooth and even throughout. Then place the pan in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or over night. 

Once they have sat in the fridge and ready to come out, its time to decorate! Now, I skipped this part but, you can do whatever you like with your lemon bars. You can add crushed pistachios at the top with the lemon zest, or do as I did, and just add the lemon zest on top for decoration. 

To cut these, I used a large kitchen knife to make a clean cut down and make them into bars!

And that's it!  Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did!