to-die-for cherry cheesecake

This recipe has been passed down three generations now in my family. First my grandma, then my mom, and onto me. Now I will break the "family secret recipe code" and pass it to you....because its just THAT good!

It only takes about 5 minutes to prepare and a couple hours in the refrigerator and voila! Cheesecake that will knock the socks off all your guests! With Thanksgiving rapidly approaching I thought now might be a good time to add this to your pie repertoire and give you the opportunity to wow your family.

So here it is....

1 8oz. block of cream cheese...don't use the light or fat free stuff. just don't.
1 8oz. container of cool whip. again, no fat free.
1 can of sweetened condensed milk...not sure what size that is but...the small one!
1/4 Cup of lemon juice
1 can Cherry pie filling...not the sugar free kind. come on people, its supposed to make you fat! that's why it tastes so good!
1 large prepared graham cracker crust. (I use the one with 10 servings).

*make sure your cream cheese is room temperature when you use it. this is important. it takes about 2 hours on the counter.

*also, go ahead and stick that cool whip in the fridge, not freezer when you take the cream cheese out.

Once the cream cheese is soft and room temperature, combine it with the cool whip and sweetened condensed milk. Using a hand beater, whip until nice and creamy...about 2 minutes.

THEN add the lemon juice. don't do it before! It will almost instantly change the texture of your mixture! mix until fluffy. again..about 2 minutes is plenty.

Pour that fatty deliciousness into your crust. Throw it in the fridge along with your UNOPENED can of pie filling.

It will set enough in an hour to eat it, but if you have a few hours or overnight, that's when it really tastes best! Once its set, pour the cooled fruit filling on top.

Now invite some people over or your may be danger of eating the whole thing in a day ;) Hope you enjoy it!

*Note, my mom always made it without the cool whip and added a teaspoon of vanilla. both are equally as good! I think I love how thick and fluffy the cool whip makes it, but feel free to try it the other way...its also slightly less fattening :)