Sometimes, rules are meant to be broken. Ok, maybe not broken, broken, but bent a little bit. Or a lot.
And for me, one of the most appropriate times to do that, is when I bake.
Because of my nutrition/fitness background, people expect me to always follow a super clean diet and cook only healthy stuff. And I definitely do, most of the time. You know, with my strange eating habits and my sugar detoxes… But like I said, sometimes rules are meant to be broken.
So every now and then I take the liberty to go a little bananas and come up with the craziest most decadent, calorie-laden desserts. Not very often, but occasionally, especially if I get a request or there is a special occasion coming up. It’s almost like my own little rebellion.
One of the most not-figure-friendly desserts I make ( by the way, one of the most requested too) is cheesecake. And if you’ve made cheesecake before, you know exactly what I’m talking about. I mean, this thing is sooo rich, I almost feel guilty every time I make it for someone else. I’m lucky I don’t really care for it, but for what hear, the stuff is awesome.
I was thinking about sharing the original recipe with you… but then I thought I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I was the one responsible for you having it. Yep, that’s how “bad” it is.
So we came up with a “less bad for you” version of it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a treat to be enjoyed in moderation and definitely not guilt free (this is the nutritionist/trainer talking), but at least it’s a bit… “lighter”. Oh, and we combined it with apple pie flavors, so you can sort of have two desserts in one J
Hope you like it!
Ruth
- Prep time: 25 minutes plus 4 hours of cooling time and overnight refrigeration
- Cook time: 50-55 minutes
- Ingredients:
Crust:
- 2 cups cinnamon graham cracker crumbs (about 10-12 crackers)
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tbsp milk
Apples:
- 2 medium apples, cored, peeled and diced
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tsp cinnamon
Filling:
- 2-8oz packages of Neufchatel cream cheese (1/3 less fat), softened
- 2-6oz containers apple cinnamon fat free greek yogurt (we use Chobani)
- ¾ cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp natural vanilla extract
Crumble topping:
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1 ½ tbsp. unsalted butter
- To prepare the crust, combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and milk in food processor. Pulse a few times until well combined
- Press into a 10-inch spring form mold to make an even layer and so it slightly comes up the sides. Set aside
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- In a small pan, cook apples, sugar and cinnamon at medium heat until tender. Set aside to cool
- Combine cream cheese and sugar in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add yogurt and vanilla extract and pulse a few times
- Add eggs, one at a time, making sure they’re well incorporated
- Pour into a bowl and fold in cooked apples.
- Pour filling into the prepared crust and bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes
- In the meantime, prepare crumble topping. Combine flour and sugar in a small bowl. Mix in butter using a fork or your fingers.
- Remove cheesecake from the oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 400F. Sprinkle crumb topping evenly on the cheesecake and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes
- Let cool completely (for at least 4 hours) and refrigerate overnight
ENJOY! From May I have that recipe
maybe I’m just not seeing it, but when do you incoroporate the apples back in (after they’ve cooled)? this recipe looks amazing!
So sorry! Looks like we missed the step! It’s fixed now. Thanks for letting us know!
wow, this looks delicious! and I love that colorful, vibrant cloth napkin in the pretty photos!
Thank you very much! It taste delicious too! We got that napkin last year at Home Goods.
this looks SOOOO good! the crust at the top just looks incredible! everything is moderation – though I’m not to good at that!
The crust in definitely my favorite part! Your comment reminds me of a quote I found on Pinterest. Check it out!
http://pinterest.com/pin/157696424422276410/
The combination of apple pie and cheesecake sounds wonderful! Beautiful photography!
Thank you!! What better than two desserts in one?
Hi. I am definitely going to try this cheesecake. Trivia question: How do I get a “smaller” version of your recipes that won’t print up in a humungous size. The last recipe I printed up cameout on 10 pages. Thanks. Love your recipes.
Thank you for visiting our site, we are so glad that you will try our apple pie cheesecake. We are in the process of re-designing our site and we will have a print this recipe option. Now, your best option is to copy and paste, or highlight the recipe and then print only the selected text. We are sorry about that