I made these Cheesecake Bars using SPLENDA® Sweeteners as a part of a sponsored post for Socialstars #SweetSwaps #SplendaSweeties.
Lightened-Up Cheesecake Bars have a creamy, delicious filling on top of a graham cracker crust and are topped with blueberries and cherries for a patriotic dessert. The cheesecake layer is made from reduced-fat cream cheese, low-fat cottage cheese, SPLENDA® Sugar Blend, eggs, and vanilla and almond extracts.
It has all the creaminess of regular cheesecake, but isn’t at all heavy.
Lightened-Up Cheesecake Bars taste completely indulgent, but you can enjoy them without the guilt.
A cherry topping or blueberry topping makes a delicious finishing touch.
These bars will totally satisfy your sweet tooth and thanks to SPLENDA® Sugar Blend they have very little added sugar. SPLENDA® Sugar Blend is a blend of SPLENDA® Brand Sweetener and sugar and it has twice the sweetness of plain sugar. To use it in a recipe, just use half the amount called for. For example, if a recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, you would use 1/2 cup of SPLENDA® Sugar Blend. To make it easy, there is a conversion chart on the back of the bag so you don’t have to stress your brain trying to figure out what half of 1/3 a cup would be.
SPLENDA® Brand Sweeteners allow you to have the sweetness of sugar without all of the calories. They are versatile and can be used in baking, cooking, and beverages.
Visit Sweet Swaps and follow SPLENDA® Brand on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to learn 100s of ways you can save calories by swapping full sugar for SPLENDA® Brand Sweeteners.
Lightened-Up Cheesecake Bars with Fruit Topping
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 6 tablespoons butter,, melted
- 21/2 tablespoons SPLENDA® Sugar Blend
Filling
- 1 (8-ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese,, room temperature
- 1 cup 2% cottage cheese
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup SPLENDA® Sugar Blend
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Blueberry Topping
- 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries,, defrosted
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 1/2 teaspoons SPLENDA® Sugar Blend
- 3-4 tablespoons water
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cherry Topping
- 1 1/2 cups pitted and chopped fresh cherries or frozen and defrosted
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 1/2 teaspoons SPLENDA® Sugar Blend
- 3-4 tablespoons water
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9X9-inch pan with nonstick aluminum foil. Make sure that it overhangs the sides so you will be able to easily lift the cheesecake bars out of the pan. (You can also use an 8X8-inch pan but you may need to cook the filling a few minutes longer.)
- In a medium bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and 2 tablespoons SPLENDA® Sugar Blend. Transfer to prepared pan and press firmly and evenly along the bottom of the pan.
- Bake for 5-8 minutes. Let cool.
- Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and cottage cheese until smooth.
- Add eggs, one at a time, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add SPLENDA® Sugar Blend, flour, vanilla extract and almond extract and beat just until evenly mixed.
- Pour batter on top of cooled crust. Place in oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
- Let cool on the counter and then refrigerate to chill.
- To make toppings, (making one at a time), combine fruit and SPLENDA® Sugar Blend in a small saucepan. In a small bowl, stir together cornstarch and 3 tablespoons of water. Add to pan. Bring to a simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. If too thick, add another tablespoons of water.
- To serve, cut cheesecake into bars and top with fruit topping.
Notes
If you want to be absolutely sure the cottage cheese is smooth, process it in a food processor or blender before beating it together with the cream cheese.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I SO have to make these bars! They look stunning – and I love how they’re lightened up!! Pinned 🙂
Oh, gosh. How fun would these cheesecake bars be for a party?! Guests would love picking their own fruit topping! Of course, I would totally be one of those people who put ALL the varieties of sauce on my cheesecake. 😉
Fruit and cheesecake were just meant to be together! So pretty!
These cheesecake bars are gorgeous, Christin! Love that they’re lightened up with cottage cheese and Splenda. So delicious and the berry topping looks perfect!
I could eat cheesecake every day, so this lightened up version is perfect for me! I’ve used Greek yogurt in cheesecake but never cottage cheese. I’ll have to try cottage cheese next time!
The fruit topping on these cheesecake bars look amazing!! Pinned!!
I want to spoon that blueberry and cherry topping right into my mouth. I love that you lightened up these cheesecake bars. They are the perfect summer dessert!
I love these lightened up cheese cake bars! Cheesecake is one of my top three favorite desserts if not my all time favorite, so I love the idea of making them a little healthier!!