Cherry Dessert

Cherry Dessert, Adapted from my Grandmother

To Celebrate my 200th post, I thought I'd share a sweet dessert for us all to share! hehe! We all love dessert time, whether you are patient and eat yours after you've digested the meal, or if you're impatient and eat it first before you even get to the first course. Regardless of how you eat it, I have yet to meet a person who doesn't love to indulge every once in awhile. I know I fall into this category, and at times have to restrain myself from indulging everyday... haha! But when I do I try as hard as I can to cut down on the fat in the recipes I make. This is one such time that was such a homerun that I'm now wondering why I haven't made it again... Hmmm...

Growing up this was a treat we had fairly often, as it was my Mom's dessert of choice for her birthday, and absolute favorite dessert my Grandmother made. When I was younger my wonderful Grandmother put together a cookbook of recipes for all of her children, to pass on the family recipes through the generations. When I got married to the love of my life, I was so blessed to be given my late Great-Grandmothers copy of this book. I don't know if many of you had the chance to know your Great-Grandparents, and she is the only one I ever knew, but the memories I have of my time with her are so precious. I used to take trips with my Grandparents to go visit her, that's where I learned to sew, and quilt, make the perfect cup of coffee, and I loved watching 2 of my favorite women cooking together in the kitchen. So to receive this book, with my late Great-Grandmothers notes in the margins meant the world to me. I cherish this book, and feel so honored to have it, and hope to one day pass it on to my own child(ren). And while I love the recipes from this book, they are from another time and are loaded with more calories than we like to consume. So I've made it my mission to re-do these recipes in a lower fat way that still taste great, and I started with this fabulous dessert!

This is not quite a cheesecake, not really a pie, but totally delicious! We loved this dessert, which I made for Easter this year. Next time you want a slightly lighter but still lip smacking good dessert, I hope you'll give this a try!

Ingredients:
1 Oreo Pie Crust (can use graham cracker but I like the chocolate addition)
4 oz. Fat Free Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract
1 Small container Fat Free Cool Whip
1 can Cherry Pie Filling (or make your own)

Directions:
Beat the cream cheese, sugar and extract until smooth. Then fold in the cool whip. Pour into the pie crust, and chill for 1-2 hours until filling is set and slightly firm. Right before serving top with the pie filling, slice and serve.

Review:
This is so incredibly easy, and such a delightful treat. Great for the summer heat as it does not require an oven! (YAY!) I give this 4 stars.

Happy Cooking!