Low-fat Cheesecake Bites

Low Fat Cheesecake Bites

I made these for Thanksgiving and I will be making them again for Christmas. Obviously, cheesecake is not the healthiest thing, but there are ways to make it healthier. Besides, it is ok to indulge in a healthier way, while using moderation. Moreover, the size of them makes perfect serving portions. The best part is they do not taste like health food! I was pleasantly surprised by that because the worst thing to experience is biting into something that you hope tastes great only to find out it tastes like stale cardboard!

Ingredients (makes 24 cheesecake bites)

Cupcake wrappers

One bag of Annie’s Homegrown Organic Bunny Grahams

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted (organic if you choose to do so)

2 tablespoons of water

2 – 8 ounce packages of Neufchatel cream cheese, softened (let it sit out at room temperature)

2 – 8 Ounce packages of fat-free or low-fat cream cheese, softened

1 ½ cups of organic light brown sugar

1 cup of reduced-fat sour cream

2 large whole eggs and 3 egg whites

2 tablespoons of whole wheat pastry flour (I used Bob’s Red mill)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of grated lemon zest (lemon zest- grate the outside of a lemon)

Optional topping- 2 cups of muddled fresh fruit (strawberries, blueberries, etc.,) with 2 tablespoons of organic sugar boiled down in a saucepan.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the grahams crackers into a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. Add two tablespoons of water and 2 tablespoons of butter and pulse again until the graham cracker crumbs are evenly moistened (you may have to use a spoon to stir in between pulses to accomplish this). Using a cupcake pan, place cupcake wrappers into each space. Using a tablespoon measurer, place 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons of the graham cracker crust mixture into the cupcake wrappers and press into bottoms. Bake for 10 minutes to accomplish a browning effect.

While the crust is browning, with a mixer, beat both cream cheese (all four packages) and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth for 5 minutes. Next, beat the sour cream in on low speed. Place the egg whites into a separate bowl and whisk until frothy, but not to stiff peaks. Add the frothy egg whites to the cheese mixture along with the 2 whole eggs, flour, vanilla, and lemon zest. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes until fluffy. Using a cup measurer for convenience, pour mixture into cupcake wrappers and fill about ¾ of the way.

Fill a roasting pan with water until it comes up to about ¼ of the way up the sides of the cupcake pan. Placing the cupcake pan in the water bath, bake for 1 hour, and 10 minutes or until cheesecake is set. If you are unsure about whether it is done or not, stick a toothpick or butter knife into the center of one of the cheesecake bites, if it comes out clean, it is done. Turn the over off and let the cheesecake bites sit in the over for an addition 20 minutes. Leaving the cheesecake bites in their wrapper, move them onto a flat baking pan and place them in the refrigerator overnight or at least for 8 hours.

Then, enjoy!