A Graduation and Lemon/Lime Bars

YIPPPIE YAHOOOOY, WOOT WOOT!!!!! I finally did it! I graduated last Sunday! Placed right there in my hand is a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Organizational Supervision and Leadership. And I graduated Cum Laude. Do I have a reason to be proud? I sure do!! Now it's onto the job search so I can apply what I have learned.....
That is why these lemon/lime bars are just a little late getting your way......
I have been attending college since 2008.....It has been a long, hard, last three years. If you are a clean freak (like me), a scheduler (like me), things in your daily routine done a certain way (like me), family comes first (like me).....all of that stuff that was just listed is blown out the window when you attend college. For real! No lie! I haven't had time to do much of anything on that list since I started college. I have been doing nothing but schoolwork for the last three years.......And fitting in blog posts just for you.

Have you tried these cookies yet? They are so refreshing and crispy. And the crispy part allowed me to make a cookie crumb mixture for these lemon/lime bars.
The crust is the lemon part of the bars.

If you are looking for a refreshing citrus treat, look no further than these bars. And I cut down on the sugar amount for you by using Domino Light Blend and Splenda. The cream cheese is still full fat because that's all I had in my fridge. But you can change that too.
These are definitely a keeper in my house and will be made over and over.
The inspiration for this recipe came to me through Our Best Bites, which can be found by clicking the highlighted link.

This recipe is linked to:



And:




Lemon/Lime Bars

20 Fig Newton Lemon Crisp cookies, crushed
1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. firmly packed Splenda brown sugar
1/4 c. cold butter, chopped in small pieces

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, room temp
1/2 c. Domino Light sugar blend
2 eggs, room temp
2 TBS flour
3 TBS grated lime peel (zest), divided
1/4 c. fresh lime juice (I used three limes for this recipe)
1/4 tsp. baking powder
powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8 inch glass baking pan with butter.
In a bowl, combine cookie crumbs, 1/2 c. flour, and brown sugar. Place small pieces of butter in with the cookie mixture. Use a pastry blender to form the mixture into coarse crumbs.
Press crumb mixture in to the bottom of buttered baking dish.
Bake for 10-15 minutes.
While crust is baking, beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs one at a time, 2 TBS flour, and baking powder; mix well. Blend in 1 TBS lime zest and lime juice. Pour mixture over crust.
Bake 25-30 minutes, or until the center is set. Cool completely. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight (only if you can wait that long). After they have sat in the fridge, sprinkle with powdered sugar and leftover lime zest just before cutting. Store leftovers (if there are any) in the refrigerator.