Lemon Greek Yogurt Mini-Cheesecakes #GF

Adapted from Skinnytaste

My friend Amy is having a birthday this week. I asked her what her favorite dessert is. She told me she loves lemons and she loves sugar, but she wants something healthy so she can eat LOTS of it. Did you know you can make cheesecake with Greek yogurt? I’ve done it before, without even baking the filling, but this time I decided to bake them.

So this is what I made for Amy for her birthday. They are sweet and lemony, creamy, and yes! healthy, too. And just in case she wants to share with our gluten free friends at work, I made them gluten free by using Gluten Free Sugar Cookies for the “crust” and substituting tapioca flour for the regular flour. The luscious lemon topping is also gluten free … thickened with corn starch.

In case you are wondering what Greek Yogurt cream cheese is, it is a marvelous mix of Greek yogurt and cream cheese. Here’s a photo of it. If you can’t find it, just use light cream cheese. I promise, your mini-cheesecakes will still be wonderful.

The cookies make a super simple crust for mini-cheesecakes. The moisture from the cheese soaks into them and softens them into just the right texture for a cheesecake crust.

Lemon Greek Yogurt Mini-Cheesecakes {Gluten Free}

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 12 mini-cheesecakes 1x

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Ingredients

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• 12 gluten free sugar cookies (recipe here … or substitute low-fat Nilla wafers or other sugar cookies)
• 8 oz Greek Yogurt cream cheese, softened (or light cream cheese)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
• 1 egg, beaten
• Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 Tablespoons)
• 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 Tablespoon GF tapioca flour (or regular all purpose flour)
• 6 oz fat-free plain (or lemon) Greek yogurt
• 20 drops liquid lemon NuStevia (optional)

For the luscious lemon topping:

• Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 Tablespoons)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 Tablespoon lemon zest

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 12-spot cupcake pan with cupcake liners. (I used my reusable nonstick silicon liners.) Set a cookie at the bottom of each cup for the “crust”.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until creamy. Mix in the egg, lemon juice and flour, then gently fold in the yogurt.Stir in the stevia drops for a little extra sweet lemony taste if you like. Divide the cheesecake mixture amongst the cups.
3. Bake at 350 F. for 20 – 25 minutes or until the cheesecakes are almost set in the middle.
4. While the cheesecakes are baking, make the sauce. In a small saucepan, mix the lemon juice and water. Pour out about 3 Tablespoons of this mixture into a small cup or bowl and stir in the cornstarch until it’s dissolved. Set aside.
5. Add the sugar to the liquid in the saucepan and heat over medium heat. Stir and cook until the sugar is dissolved. Add the lemon zest and then stir in the cornstarch, 1 Tablespoon at a time. Stir and cook until the liquid is thickened. This should happen rather quickly, so be careful to remove from heat as soon as it’s thickened.
6. Remove the cheesecakes from the oven and let cool in the fridge. Divide the sauce amongst the mini cheesecakes and use the back of the spoon to coat. Garnish with a bit more lemon zest and lemon wedges if you like.

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Notes

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

© Copyright 2014, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. I love it when you share, but please do not use my images on your own site/page without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. Sharing, pinning, and tweeting is always appreciated as long as the shares and pins link back to here for the recipe. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 mini cheesecake

This recipe was shared at Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Valentines Day Sweets, What to Do Weekends, Real Food Fridays, Sweet & Savoury Sundays, Melt in your Mouth Mondays and Munching Mondays.