Low-fat No-bake Pear Cheesecake

​The pears in my fruit orchard ripen in early fall. But nationwide, pears are considered a winter fruit as they are widely available and inexpensive in January, February, and March. 

​My no-bake pear cheesecake combines the winter fruit with a hint of fall spices and because it is low-fat it won’t ruin your new years resolution to lose the holiday weight.

​The crust is simple and laced with flavor. Add fall spice to the crust by pulsing vanilla wafers with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg in a food processor.

​Mix in a little butter until the mixture resembles wet sand.

​Divide the crust among the bottoms of some pretty glass jars.

​Now make the cheesecake. Use an electric mixer to mix together 1/3 less fat cream cheese (aka Neufchatel), plain Greek yogurt, and powdered sugar. The six tablespoons of sugar in the recipe only adds 1-1/2 tsp of added sugar per serving. So, the cream cheese base is not very sweet. If you prefer a sweeter cheesecake that will come later with the delicious pear topping.

​Layer the cheesecake base into the cups over the crust.

​Prep the pears, by coring and dicing. No need to peel.

​Make the sauce by mixing brown sugar, water, and cinnamon in a small saucepan. Heat until sugar is dissolved.

​Add the diced pears and heat about one minute more. If the pears are under ripe cook a little longer.

​Spoon the pears and sauce over the top of the cheesecake jars. Delicious! 

Low-fat No-Bake Pear Cheesecake
 
Crust
1 cup vanilla wafers
½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 Tbs butter, melted
 
Cheesecake Base
8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese (Neufchatel)
1 cup plain, low-fat Greek yogurt
6 Tbs powdered sugar
 
Sauce
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ cup water
1 large pear, diced
 
 
Crust. Pulse all ingredients except butter in food processor until cookies resemble fine crumbs. Add melted butter and process until mixture resembles wet sand. Divide crust among four 4-6 oz serving dishes.
Cheesecake. Place cream cheese, yogurt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Beat with an electric mixture until smooth and creamy. Layer cheesecake base over crust in serving dishes. Refrigerate while making sauce.
Sauce. Heat sugar, cinnamon, and water in saucepan until sugar is melted. Add diced pears to sauce and heat about one minute more. Spoon pears and sauce over cheesecakes just before serving. Note: this makes about twice the sauce needed to cover the cheesecakes. The remaining sauce is great on waffles or pancakes, or mixed into smoothies.