Chocolate-Amaretto Cheesecake

Recipe by: Weight Watchers "Simply the Best" cookbook

2 Points Per Serving

I'll give it to you straight from the book, then tell you my "improvements" and let you decide :)

Six 2 1/2" chocolate graham cracker squares, made into crumbs

2 1/3 cups part-skim ricotta cheese

4 ounces nonfat cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 egg

3 T all-purpose flour

2 T Amaretto liquor

1 t vanilla

2 T semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 300º F. Spray an 8" springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle the cracker crumbs evenly over the bottom of the pan.

2. In a blender or food processor, puree the ricotta and cream cheeses, the sugar, cocoa, egg, flour, liquor and vanilla. Stir in the chocolate chips.

3. Pour the cheese mixture over the crumbs. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 1/2 hours.

Cool completely on a rack. Refrigerate, covered, until chilled, at least 3 hours

Makes 12 servings.

99 Calories, 2 g Fat, 1 g Fiber, 2 Points per serving

Okay, I've made this cheesecake several times now, using it as a base for different variations. I love it! I do make a few changes, though. I use fat free Ricotta instead of part-skim. I also use a little less Ricotta and a little more cream cheese then the recipe calls for. I don't have much use for Ricotta or cream cheese on a day to day basis, so I don't want any leftovers. So I use one container of Ricotta (2 cups, I believe) and one 8 ounce block of fat free cream cheese. I also use 1/4 cup of egg substitute instead of the egg, and I usually leave out the Amaretto. I also like the tiny chocolate chips instead of the regular ones. I'm not sure what effect these substitutions have on the nutrition information and points, but they have to help!

Sometimes I leave out the cocoa and put in a tad more flour. For St. Patrick's day, I left out the cocoa and added mint flavoring and green food coloring for a mint chocolate chip cheesecake.

Shared by: Sandy