Friday, January 7, 2011

Light(ish) Chocolate Cheesecake Squares

Alright, they're not exactly diet food, but if you have a hankerin' for chocolate cheesecake without too much guilt, you're going to LOVE these babies!

These bars are really easy to make, but if your boys are like mine, they'll take one bite and think you are a domestic goddess. I like that.

Light(ish) Chocolate Cheesecake Squares
{adapted from Everyday Food magazine, Jan 2004}
makes 9 squares

shortening for pan
8 chocolate wafer cookies
8 oz (1/3 less fat, or reduced fat) cream cheese
1 c. reduced-fat sour cream
1/3 c. dutch-process cocoa (regular is fine, too)
1/2 tsp. espresso powder (optional)
2 TBSP cornstarch
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
1/3 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven 325. Coat an 8x8" baking pan with shortening. Line with 2 criss-crossed sheets of parchment, coating the with shortening between sheets. Coat the top sheet with shortening.

{Here is one sheet coated. Lay another sheet in opposite direction on top and coat that one as well.}

Process wafers in a food processor until finely ground.

{Chocolate wafers....in my store, they are near the ice cream, not in the cookie section. You can substitute Oreos. What you do with the cream filling is your secret.}

Press the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Without rinsing the processor bowl, process the cream cheese and sour cream until blended. Scrape down the sides and bottom as needed. Add the cocoa, espresso powder, cornstarch, sugar, egg and egg white; blend until smooth and combined.

{This is the Hershey dutch-process cocoa. It's labeled as "Special Dark."}

Pour into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

Bake 35-40 minutes, just until set.

Cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack. Refrigerate at least one hour.

Lift out of the pan using the parchment. Cut into squares. (I love using my bench scraper for cutting bars like this.)