On the Fifth Day of Christmas my true love gave to me… Turtle Cheesecake Bars!
On the Fifth Day of Christmas my true love gave to me… Turtle Cheesecake Bars!
The estimated total time to make this recipe is 40-50 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375. Line 8×8 baking dish with foil (to ensure easy removal of bars), and spray foil with non-stick cooking spray. Remove Oreo crust from pre-made pan, and crumble/press it down, re-forming it into your foil-lined pan. Put crust into the oven to bake for 8 minutes, then remove from oven.
Meanwhile, when crust is baking, cream together all of the ingredients, (except for the caramel and pecans), with a hand held mixer until smooth. (Or you could mix everything together in a blender or food processor, and skip the step of blending the cottage cheese beforehand).
Pour filling over Oreo crust, smoothing out filling with a spatula. Sprinkle the pecans over the top of the cheesecake bars. Place cheesecake bars in the oven, bake for 30-35 minutes, or until cheesecake is almost set in the center. Let cool, and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours, or overnight.
After chilled, remove from the refrigerator, and pull entire cheesecake out of pan, using the foil to lift cheesecake out of pan and onto a cutting board. Cut bars into 12 even bars, (I used a pizza cutter and wiped the blade clean with a paper towel between each cut). Just before serving, drizzle caramel over bars.
| 1 | Pre-made Oreo Pie Crust |
| 1 | (8 oz) package reduced fat cream cheese, softened |
| 1/4 cup | Baking Stevia OR 1/2 cup sweetener of choice that measures like sugar 1 |
| 3/4 cup | Low fat cottage cheese, (pureed in a blender until smooth) |
| 1 | Whole egg |
| 2 | Egg whites |
| 1 tsp | Vanilla extract |
| 1/8 cup | Sugar free caramel ice cream topping (or fat free) |
| 1/4 cup | Chopped pecans |
1 I used NuNaturals More Fiber Stevia Baking Blend. If using packets of stevia, I recommend using about 6-8, or adjust according to taste.
You can drizzle the caramel up to a few hours ahead of time, however I found that the caramel tends to ’sink in’ to the bars when put on well in advance, which of course tastes the same, but I like the pretty presentation of the fresh caramel drizzle! | 12 | Bars |
| 156 | Calories per Bar |
| 9 g | Fat |
| 13 g | Carbohydrate |
| 6 g | Sugar |
| 5 g | Sugar |
| 5 | WWP+* |
*Weight Watchers Points per serving
28 Comments
juniakk @ mis pensamientos said:
wow these turtle bars look divine. i like how you healthified them! have a great weekend :).
Haley said:
UMMMMMMM Are these a joke?!? THEY LOOK FABULOUS!! Can NOT WAIT to make them!! AHHHH (:
Erica | Cupcakes & Coffee Breaks said:
Ugh, these look soooo good. Definitely spoiling my loved ones with them this Christmas!
Liz @ IHeartVegetables said:
Yummm those look so good! I’m always amazed at your healthy dishes!
Vishwa said:
These look delicious but I have a quick question can you use honey as a sugar substitute?
Haley @ Fit, Young, and Fabulous said:
I made these tonight. The only problem: they are currently cooling in the refridgerator. And I don’t think I can wait much longer for them to chill! Instead of using an Oreo crust, I used 1.5 Cups of crushed Fiber One, some Splenda, some vanilla yogurt, and 2 tsp of cocoa powder. I’m thinking about placing them in the freezer for a few minutes so they will get colder faster! (: Patience is tough when there are turtle bars to be eaten!
Lindsey said:
This look so good!! I was wondering if I could substitute greek yogurt for the cottage cheese. I like cottage cheese, but family members do not. They always seem to notice when I use it. Can’t wait to try these!
Megan Pence @ Country Cleaver said:
Well, these most Certainly need to make an appearance on my Christmas nomming table! Beautiful!! ~Megan
Allison said:
Just wanted to thank you for this awesome recipe! I just had some and they were delicious. I used Greek yogurt instead of cottage cheese (as another poster suggested) and it turned out great. Now I just have to keep myself from eating it all at once, lol. Thanks again!
Melinda said:
My mom made these for coffee after church today, and they were soooo good! They didn’t taste low cal at all, and were so creamy and rich. What a “guilt-less” treat:)) Thanks!
Cassandra Bishop said:
Oh. My. Gosh. I’m new to your site and on the homepage, this is the first picture I see. It’s safe to say this will be one of my new favorite blogs :)By the way, your site is great! I’m looking forward to touring it a little bit more
Gills said:
can we use actual granulated sugar or confectioners sugar instead of sugar substitute?
Dashing Dish said:
you sure can! same amt as sugar substitute!
Gills said:
can you leave out or substitute something else for the cottage cheese part?
Dashing Dish said:
Yes! Simply take out the cottage chews an add low fat cream cheese
Gills said:
the same anount?
Dashing Dish said:
yes :)
Gills said:
when i creamed all the ingredients together, i turned out like liquid. is it suppose to be like that?
Dashing Dish said:
yes :) it will firm up in the oven!
Jessica said:
Could you use baking stevia as the sugar substitute? Would it be the same amount as the sugar substitute? Thanks! Cant’t wait to bake them :)
Dashing Dish said:
great question! i just clarified on the recipe!
Jessica said:
Okay thanks! Which brand of baking stevia do you recommend?
Dashing Dish said:
NuStevia for sure! I buy mine at whole foods or on amazon!
Jessica said:
is this the correct one (before I order it )
http://www.amazon.com/NuNaturals-Morefiber-Stevia-Baking-14-11-Ounce/dp/B001FXQDFC/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1340679076&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=nustevia+baking
Mandy Nicoletta said:
These were AWESOME!
Katie Farrell said:
HI vishwa, probably not in this recipe, because it is cheesecake extra moisture may make it unstable!
Katie Farrell said:
you could do that lindsey! :)