Strawberry Cheesecake Bites
There's a creamy, delicious (and low-fat) surprise in every red, ripe juicy strawberry!
Recipe Ingredients:
1 (8-ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchatel cheese), softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
16 (about 1 pound) whole stemmed California strawberries
8 graham cracker squares, finely crushed (about 2/3 cup)
Cooking Directions:
- In mixer bowl, beat together cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and lemon peel until smooth and creamy; set aside.
- Using paring knife or small melon baller, partially hollow out top of strawberries to a depth of 3/4 inch. Gently fill each with 1 tablespoon cream cheese mixture. Roll tops into graham cracker crumbs. Arrange on serving platter.
Makes 16 servings.
Chocolate Cheesecake Variation: Melt 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels as package directs; stir into 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese (softened). Add 1/3 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Proceed as recipe directs, rolling filled strawberries into finely crushed graham crackers or chocolate wafer cookies.
Tip: To prepare recipe ahead of time, fill strawberries with cream cheese mixture; cover and refrigerate up to 6 hours. Roll in graham cracker crumbs just before serving.
Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/16 of recipe): 65 calories; 3 g fat; 10 mg cholesterol; 85 mg sodium; 7 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 2 g protein.
Recipe and photograph provided courtesy of California Strawberry Commission. ©2009 California Strawberry Commission. All rights reserved. Used with permission.