My love of butter didn’t come from my mother. In fact, her cooking is pretty much the antithesis of mine. I sometimes get a little heavy handed with the rich ingredients, and she always finds a way to cut them out. Whenever she’d make a cake, my grandpa would mutter something along the lines of “well, she left all the good stuff out….”

I’ll admit, I’m a skeptic of low-fat cooking, but sometimes she just hits the nail on the head and makes me a believer (temporarily).  This Easter weekend, she made the most unbelievably light, decadently sinful, cheesecake.  The shocker? It was low fat.  As everybody in the family practically licked their plates and lined up for seconds, she slyly smiled and gloated, “It’s made with light cream cheese.”

Not one to keep her recipes a secret, she suggested I share it with all of you.

Mom’s Unbelievably Light Lemony Cheesecake

1/3 cup cookie or cracker crumbs (Mom used amaretti cookies that are like meringues and contain no flour, but graham cracker crumbs would work just fine.)

Non-stick cooking spray
2 cups light cottage cheese
1 package light cream cheese
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sliced strawberries, for garnish

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Spray a springform pan with cooking spray.  Use a measuring cup to gently press the cookie crumbs into a crust.  The crust is not supposed to be very thick.

Put all remaining ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Bake for 40 minutes.  Let cool completely.  Serve with fresh berries.