Lemon Cream Cheese Pie

This 100% from-scratch lemon cream cheese pie is sweet, tart, and perfect for summer! My recipe skips the store-bought Cool Whip and gelatin while still keeping things simple with minimal baking (only the crust!).

• 1 ½ cups (170 g) graham cracker crumbs
• 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• 7 Tablespoons (100 g) salted butter melted

• 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup (43 g) cornstarch
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup (118 ml) fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
• ¾ cup (177 ml) water
• 4 Tablespoons (56 g) salted butter

• 1 cup (236 ml) heavy cream (very cold)
• 1 cup (125 g) powdered sugar divided
• 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese softened
• ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ batch homemade whipped cream (optional)

Homemade whipped Cream (Optional)

•  1 ½ cups (355 ml) heavy cream¹ cold
• ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract