Gingerbread Cheesecake Dessert

Here's a recipe to sort of kick off the holidays! At this time of year, I love gingerbread! I was so excited when I found a Betty Crocker Gingerbread Cookie Mix at the grocery store. I had every intention of using it to make gingerbread cookies with my kids, but I found this recipe on the back and just had to try it out. It was absolutely delicious. My six year old had 2 1/2 servings of it and still wanted more. It was easy to make and ended up being a big hit. You could use any recipe you have for gingerbread cookies or pick up one of these cookies mixes at your grocery store.

Gingerbread Cheesecake Dessert
1 pouch Betty Crocker gingerbread cookie mix
butter, water and egg called for on cookie mix pouch
1 can (14 oz) sweetened & condensed milk
8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
2 cups frozen whipped topping, thawed

Make cookie dough as directed. Shape dough into 5 (1 inch) balls. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Press remaing dough into greased 13 x 9 pan. Bake 8-10 minutes. Mix sweetened & condensed milk, cream cheese and lemon juice until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spread over cooled cookie base. Crumble 5 baked cookies and sprinkle on top. Cover & refrigerate about 1 hour. (I did have to bake my cookies and cookie base for longer than it called for).