Yummy Lemon-Cheese Bars

It has been a long time since I have posted recipes. I was busy this summer and did not have much time to cook. I have accumulated some recipes throughout the summer and I am trying to post as many as I can. Speaking of summer, these lemon bars are very refreshing. They are low-fat due to the cottage cheese, and don't worry, the filling does not taste like cottage cheese but more like Philadelphia cream cheese! I decided to try this recipe when I had leftover cottage cheese and did not know what to do with it. You can substitute the lemons for oranges. 

Ingredients

For the crust:

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup all-purpose flour

cooking spray

Filling:

1 cup low-fat cottage cheese

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Zest from 1 lemon (about 1 tablespoon) 

Juice from one big lemon (about 4 tablespoons)

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 large egg

1 large egg white

Directions

For the crust:

1. In a large bowl, mix together butter, brown sugar, salt and nutmeg. Mix well until creamy. Add flour to mixture and blend well. first six ingredients.

2. Coat a 9 inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Add flour mixture and press down. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.

For the filling: 

3. Add cottage cheese to food processor and process until smooth, about 1 minute. 

4. Add remaining ingredients to food processor and process until smooth.  

5. Pour filling over crust and bake at 350 degrees F for about 25 minutes or until sides begin to brown. Cool, and refrigerate for about 4 hours. Serve cold.

Recipe taken from myrecipes.com