Diabetic Living Festive Peppermint Cheesecake

Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• 6 peppermint candies, sugar-free striped round
• 1 ounce semisweet chocolate
• 1 1/4 cups low-fat graham crackers, finely crushed
• 1/4 cup flax seed meal
• 1/3 cup extra-light vegetable oil spread, tub-style, melted
• 1 (8 ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese, softened (neufchatel)
• 1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
• 1 (6 ounce) carton plain nonfat greek yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 3/4 cup egg beaters egg substitute, thawed (or 3 eggs, lightly beaten)
• 1 1/2 cups cool whip lite, thawed

Recipe

• 1 to make chocolate lace shards - crush peppermint candies; set aside. melt semisweet chocolate over low heat. cool slightly. place melted chocolate in a resealable plastic bag. seal bag and snip off a tiny corner of the bag. on a sheet of waxed paper or parchment paper, pipe chocolate in squiggles, forming a 6-inch circle. sprinkle with some of the crushed peppermint candies; sprinkle remaining crushed candies on cheesecake. when chocolate sets, gently cut into 12 wedges (most will break; that's okay).
• 2 to make cheesecake -
• 3 preheat oven to 375 degrees f. for crust: 1. in a bowl combine crushed graham crackers and flaxseed meal. stir in melted vegetable oil spread. press the crumb mixture onto the bottom and about 2 inches up the sides of an 8- or 9-inch springform pan; set aside.
• 4 for filling: 2. in a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese, marshmallow creme, yogurt, and peppermint extract with an electric mixer until smooth. stir in eggs just until combined.
• 5 pour filling into crust-lined pan. place the pan in a shallow baking pan. bake for 40 to 45 minutes for the 8-inch pan or 35 to 40 minutes for the 9-inch pan, or until a 2-1/2-inch area around the outside edge appears set when gently shaken.
• 6 cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. using a small sharp knife, loosen the crust from sides of pan; cool for 30 minutes. remove the sides of the pan; cool cheesecake completely on rack. cover and chill for at least 4 hours before serving.
• 7 to serve, spread half the dessert topping in a thin layer on top of the cheesecake. dollop the remaining dessert topping around the top edge of the cheesecake and top the dollops with chocolate lace shards.