No Bake Lemon Cheesecake Cream Pie

If you opt for the fresh lemon juice I do recommend adding about 12 tsp. of lemon zest to the shortbread crust to maximize the lemon flavor. If you are using ALL real lemon juice in this recipe it will end up being 14 cup 2 tablespoons.
How to Make Shortbread Pie Crust
Grab your shortbread cookies and a large sealable plastic bag. If you dont have any cookies make homemade shortbread cookies to use! Start smashing the cookies and get all your aggressions out! Shortbread cookies are naturally delicate so this is an easy job and should not take you more than a minute. In a medium bowl add the shortbread crumbs and the melted butter. Using a fork work the butter into the crumbs until every crumb is coated in butter. Because we are not baking this crust the butter will act as a glue in the chilled pie. If some crumbs are not coated with butter they will fall apart when you try to cut the pie.
Now take your pie dish I used an 8inch pie dish and press the shortbread crumbs into the bottom and slightly up the sides. You want an even layer of crumbs so use a kitchen glass or something with a flat bottom to help create a smooth layer.
Whipped Topping vs. Homemade Topping
I freely admit that I love a big ole bite a cool whip and love how easy it can make recipes. This one in particular benefits from the stability of cool whip IN the creamsicle pie filling. However I do like to whip up ha! a small batch of homemade whipped cream for the topping.
To make whipped topping from scratch you take 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and add 12 tablespoons of confectioners sugar. Whip the heavy whipping cream for a couple of minutes with your handheld mixer until there are soft peaks. Sprinkle the confectioners sugar over top and keep mixing on high until there are stiff peaks. I do recommend using a large bowl to avoid splatter.
You can add vanilla extract about 12 teaspoon or even lemon extract for an extra flavor kick!
How to Make Individual Lemon Cheesecake Cream Pie Servings
Simply crush up shortbread cookies and place them in the bottom of the serving cup instead of a pie pan. After testing we found that a thinner layer was best. Which also means you can make more servings! The