Cherry Cheesecake

Mark and I loved this Weight Watchers recipe for Cherry Cheesecake. I don't know how many calories it is, but it's only 3 Points on the WW system. The little 1/2-cup cups of ice cream are also 3 Points (or 100 calories), as a way to compare.

Servings:  12 Preparation Time:  20 min Cooking Time:  15 min Level of Difficulty:  Easy

A perfect combination: rich, creamy filling and a light, buttery crust. Try different flavors of pie filling and whole vanilla wafers for crust.* INGREDIENTS 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs 2 Tbsp light butter, melted 2/3 cup low fat cream cheese 6 Tbsp fat-free cream cheese 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 2 large egg whites 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 cup sugar 3/4 cup light fruit pie filling, cherry INSTRUCTIONS Place 12 cupcake liners in a cupcake pan. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter; mix well. Spoon 1 tablespoon of crumb mixture into bottom of each liner and press down gently; refrigerate until ready to use. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat both types of cream cheese until fluffy. Add lemon juice, egg whites, vanilla extract and sugar; beat until smooth. Spoon cream cheese mixture evenly into muffin liners; bake until set, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Top each cheesecake with 1 tablespoon cherry pie filling. Yields 1 cheesecake per serving.

My variations:

I used vanilla wafer crumbs instead of graham cracker crumbs. I also used reconstituted lemon juice instead of fresh. Both substitutions worked fine. I also baked them about 10 minutes longer than it says in the recipe--the cheesecakes were still a little mushy after only 15 minutes.

YUM YUM!! Mark asked me to make another batch this weekend!