Real Men Can Cook – An Easy Dessert

Quite often, I’ll see a Food Network post on Facebook which will send me off looking at various recipes.  That happened yesterday when I saw a dessert post which led me to another site which led to another…

I wound up looking at a very simple dessert called Lemon Cream Cheese Pie.  Desserts are naturally guilt-inducing, especially since I managed to lose some thirty pounds last year and have put some effort into keeping it off, so I try to find ways to lower the carb count.  With this recipe, I could substitute with some lower-sugar ingredients and still keep it delicious. 

Herewith follows the slightly modified recipe (based on a Cooks.com item):

Lemon Cream Cheese Pie

Pre-made graham cracker crust (higher in sugar)

OR

Combine 1 1/2 C of crushed graham crackers with 6 tbs melted butter and 1/4 C baking Splenda.  Press onto bottom and up sides of a 9″ pie plate and bake for 7 minutes at 375 (then let cool), or just chill uncooked for an hour before using.

Filling

1 large or 2 small Jello lemon instant pudding/pie filling (I used sugar-free)

1/2 C milk (may need slightly more to thin just a bit)

1 8 oz. package cream cheese (softened at room temperature for a half hour to be workable)

1 tsp. lemon flavoring (next to vanilla extract in the baking aisle)

Directions

Mix Jello with milk and stir to mix.  Add just a bit more if necessary to make it workable.

Add softened cream cheese and lemon flavoring.

Spoon into pie crust and smooth to edges.  If you want to step it up, add blueberry, strawberry or cherry pie filling on top.  I could only find low-sugar cherry but you may find a different selection at your store.

Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours and serve.  It’ll make your tongue slap your brains out, as the old saying goes.

Please comment below, even if just a quickie.