Cheesecake bars

Okay, so I could have just given you this link to the recipe yesterday, but I didn't because I am a mean person! Just kidding. So it's actually a Paula Deen recipe, but I wanted to write out my low-fat, low G.I. version for you, complete with my photographs. So here it is:



Ingredients

Crust:
1 cup white wheat flour
1/4 cup packed Splenda* brown sugar mix
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 stick butter, melted (I use real butter here because light butter isn't always the right consistency for keeping crusts or toppings together, but if you try it, let me know how it works! You could also lower amount to be 3/4 stick and it would probably be fine)

Filling:
2 (8-ounce) packages low-fat cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup Splenda
1/8 cup sugar (I always supplement the Splenda with a little real sugar when baking; spread throughout the entire recipe, it isn't too bad)
3 Eggland's Best eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla or almond extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine flour, brown sugar, pecans and/or walnuts, and butter in bowl. Press dough into an ungreased 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan.



Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

For filling, beat cream cheese and Splenda/sugar together in a bowl until smooth, using a handheld electric mixer; add eggs and extract; beat well. Pour over crust.





Bake for 20 minutes.

Cool completely. Cut into squares before serving.

You can also make low-sugar hot fudge to drizzle over it, or I sometimes actually put the chocolate in the bars. To do this, spread the chocolate over the cooled crust and put it in the freezer until the chocolate is hard. Then pour the cream cheese mixture over it and bake as normal. They can also be made as cupcakes, which can make things a lot easier when it comes to cutting them. Enjoy!

*If you don't want to use Splenda, let me know how other sugar substitutes work out. I still use it because I hardly ever have it and I can't imagine that eating something with it once in a while is going to hurt me. There's always something that's going to kill you. And right now, real sugar is my true enemy!