heavy holidays are on the way...
you might want to lighten things up a bit.
start with this absolutely delicious light cheesecake.
so easy to prepare.
ALL DONE IN THE FOOD PROCESSOR
and baked with NO WATER BATH
no one will suspect the ingredients. friends and family had no idea the main ingredient was cottage cheese. don't say anything...
LET THE TASTE AND TEXTURE WIN THEM OVER.
the original recipe is for a 9" cake, but i made mine in an 8" then made 2 individuals in small mason jars with cookie crumbs at the bottom.
THESE WERE BAKED FOR 30 MINUTES.
CHOCOLATE COOKIE CRUST
28 Nabisco Chocolate Wafers
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
4 Tbsp melted butter
put wafers in possessor and pulse until crumb texture. add sugar and butter and process again. pour crumb mixture into springform pan and tamp down with something flat. gently press mixture up the sides. it's a bit crumbly, but as you can see...it's do-able.
this Martha original recipe does not require going up the sides, but i found it to look more attractive. (you shall see an example in my Lightened Up Pumpkin Pie recipe soon)
MOST OF THE CALORIES ARE IN THE CRUST SO YOU BE THE JUDGE...
bake at 325 for 12-15 minutes. remove to cool.
NOTE...i did not use all the crust mixture and as you can see i had a nice thick crust all the way up the sides of an 8 inch pan. better to have too much than not enough.
simply wipe out processor and begin to prepare mixture for cake.
MARTHA'S LIGHT CHEESECAKE
from Martha Stewart.
3 cups low fat cottage cheese
8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, room temp.
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
4 large eggs
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
2 tsp vanilla extract (Martha called for 1 tsp)
1/2 tsp salt
preheat oven to 325 degrees.
have prepared crust as noted above, or crust from original found in link.
as noted i used an 8" springform pan and had leftover.
blend cottage cheese and cream cheese until very very smooth and glossy, scraping down sides as necessary, about 4-5 minutes. add 3/4 cup sugar, sour cream, eggs, flour, vanilla, salt and blend until filling is completely smooth.
pour filling into prepared crust. bake until barely set in the middle, ABOUT 1 HOUR. there should be some "jiggle". TURN OFF THE OVEN and let the cake cool in the oven for 1 more hour. i left the oven door slightly open...very slightly! transfer to wire rack and let cool to room temp for 2 hours, then refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours and up to 2 days.
