Skinny White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Did I mention I love mini desserts? Well, I do and I just ordered a great mini muffin pan from Williams-Sonoma so keep and eye out for mini muffin/cupcake/quiche/appetizer recipes.  I also found mini cheesecake pans at Target and since they were special for Valentine’s Day, they are in the shape of a heart.  It really can’t get much cuter than that. 

Brian and I are celebrating our 30-month anniversary, which admittedly is not a “real” anniversary, but when you are in a long-distance relationship you get special privileges to celebrate whatever holiday you want.  It could be Arbor Day and if we were together we would make it an excuse to call it a celebration.  Well, maybe not that obscure, but 2 and a half years is sort of exciting and we are going to celebrate! 

I am going to St. Louis for the weekend and I am bringing my mini cheesecake pans with me.  I decided that it was the perfect occasion to make a heart shaped mini cheesecake and I found a great recipe.  My last two cheesecakes were great and I did nothing to make them healthier in any sort of way.  This time, I decided that since it’s just Bri and me I was going to find a “skinny” recipe and try it out.  I love making things slightly less guilty because then, of course, it means you can eat more if it! Right? Anyways, I love this blog: Gina’s Skinny Taste and she posted a great recipe for Skinny Strawberry Cheesecake Bars.  I simply decided that I wanted to do a White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake and so I used her recipe as a starting point and made adaptations to fit my taste.  Give it a try!  Her recipe actually fits into any weight watchers plan.  Mine is probably slightly worse for you because of the chocolate, but it’s more or less the same, plus it’s in the shape of a heart! You can’t go wrong.

Skinny White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake (inspired by Gina's Skinny Recipes)

 Ingredients:

½ cup graham cracker crumbs

1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

8 oz light cream cheese, softened

¼ cup sugar

½ tsp vanilla

¼ cup white chocolate chips

6 oz fat-free vanilla Greek yogurt (I used Chobani)

2 large egg whites

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp flour

¼ cup raspberry jam

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray pans with non-stick cooking spray.

2. In a small bowl, melt the butter and then mix in the graham cracker crumbs with a fork until they are well coated.  Divide the graham cracker crumbs evenly over the two pans and press into the coated pans. 

3. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla.  In a separate small bowl, melt the chocolate chips and then add to the mixture.  Gradually mix in the yogurt, egg whites (one at a time), lemon juice, and flour.  Beat until well combined. Pour the mixture evenly into both pans.

4. In a small bowl, stir jam until it is smooth.  Then, drop by small spoonfuls on top of the cheesecakes.  Using a knife, swirl the jam over the top.

5. Bake for 30 minutes or until the centers of the cheesecakes are almost set.  Mine took around 40 and then I lowered the temperature to 250 for about 15 minutes. Cool completely.  Chill in the refrigerator for at least a few hours. 

Enjoy J