Peanut Butter Cup Mini Cheesecakes

 Want a super easy recipe that the kids will love to cook up with you this Halloween (or after with leftover Halloween candy)? Peanut Butter Cup Mini Cheesecakes are the perfect little treat to bring to a party. You wouldn’t believe that it contains a low-calorie sweetener to lower the sugar content, but it does. Why is that a good thing? You can enjoy this little treat with reduced calories. (It’s also a positive for those with diabetes because the carbohydrates are reduced too for better blood sugar control!). I’m excited to share the recipe with you, thanks to the Calorie Control Council and their sponsorship. This recipe is the perfect post-Halloween treat and it’s a great dessert to even bring to an upcoming holiday party.

And because Halloween is the un-official start of the holiday season, meaning we have the potential to eat more calories between now and the New Year, it’s the perfect time to cut back on some of those calories by using low-calorie sweeteners. Here are some fast and easy ways to make sugar swaps:

  • Replace sugary beverages with fruity-flavored beverages that contain a low-calorie sweetener. As a young girl, I remember our holidays and family get togethers always included Kool-Aid. And when you are running around as a kid, you get pretty thirsty. Cup after cup adds up, imparting about 100 calories per 8-ounce glass. Trade it for a fruit-flavored powdered beverage mix made with low-calorie sweetener. In our house, we like the Crystal Light varieties as they are tasty and only about 5 calories.
  • Instead of yogurt sweetened with sugar, try the “light” yogurts. Light yogurts are sweetened with low calorie sweeteners to reduce the calories, yet they still contain the protein that yogurt provides, just at a lower calorie level. And if you are wondering how much sugar in yogurt is added? The average 8-ounce cup of yogurt naturally contains 12 grams of lactose or milk sugar. So whatever is above and beyond that number is added. And for a quick holiday fruit dip idea, try partnering a light yogurt with light whipped topping. Mix and match yogurts with the fruits that will be dipped, it’s the perfect party treat.
  • Swap out sugar in recipes for low-calorie sweeteners, especially those desserts! Making these mini cheesecakes was so easy, and it’s fun to get the whole family involved!  Kids will have a blast smashing the vanilla wafer cookies, unwrapping the peanut butter cups and whipping up the filling.  And they can get creative by adding a little chocolate or peanut butter chip drizzle to the top!
Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecakes 2

Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecakes

Calorie Control Council
These individual desserts are perfect for holiday parties and so easy to make! To add holiday flair, melt colored chocolate chips and drizzle lightly after baking!
Course Dessert
Servings 16

Ingredients
  

CRUST

  • 1-1/4 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
  • 4 tablespoons stick butter or margarine, melted

CHEESECAKE

  • 3 packages (8 ounces each) reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
  • 3/4 cup granulated no calorie sweetener, like Equal Spoonful
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 egg white
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 16 sugar-free miniature peanut butter cups

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 325° F. Place a cup liner in each cup of your muffin pan (16 total).
  • For the crust, combine vanilla wafer crumbs and butter or margarine. Press the crust into the bottom of each cup- about a tablespoon per cup.
  • Remove the wrappers from the peanut butter cups and place in the center of the crust in each cup.
  • For Cheesecake, beat cream cheese and sweetener in mixing bowl until smooth and well combined. Mix in eggs, egg whites and cornstarch. Fold in sour cream and vanilla until well combined. Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the peanut butter cups, evenly dividing among the 16 cups- about ¼ cup of the mixture for each cup.
  • Bake in the preheated oven 20-25 minutes or until center of each cup almost set. Remove from the oven and cool on wire rack.

Notes

Nutritional Information:
Serves 16
Calories 196
Fat 12.6g
Cholesterol 58mg
Sodium 232mg
Carbohydrates 15.4g
Protein 7.6g

Disclosure: As a Calorie Control Council advisor, I was compensated to write this post.  But all writing is my own.  See more resources and research on sweeteners on Food Insight, Best Food Facts, and the Calorie Control Council website.

Additional Resources:
Everything You Need To Know About Aspartame

A Guide to Sugar Substitutes

1 Comment

  1. Thanksgiving Recipe Round Up - Jen Haugen RD on November 23, 2014 at 6:37 pm

    […] Peanut Butter Cup Mini Cheesecakes […]

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