These sugar-free, Cinnamon Apple Cheesecakes have a rich, sweet, baked cheesecake filling wrapped in a tart/sweet apple-cinnamon package!
So, get ready for low fat, low carb, sugar-free cheesecake bliss that tastes like anything but diet food!
Apples, cheese, and cinnamon have always been one of my favorite food combinations, but since we separate fats and carbs on the wonderful Trim Healthy Mama plan, I was afraid I would never be able to enjoy these together again on a regular basis without weight gain.
So when I saw this very sweet little recipe on Pinterest that contained all three I just waited for the opportunity and understanding to convert it and reunite these fantastic flavors in a weight loss combination and here it is!
Then I remembered that I could make a sugar free, low fat, caramel syrup that would work fine in any setting so I just had to add that to the mix, but honestly, the Cinnamon Apple Cheesecake is just fine all by itself and it’s just the easiest thing to whip up a batch.
These cheesecakes take 40 minutes to bake, but they will be in the oven from start to finish in 5 minutes and only have 5 ingredients unless you make the caramel syrup which consists of heating water and whisking in sweetener, binder, and extracts.
If you love caramel flavored coffee drinks you can find instructions for turning this sugar free caramel syrup into a first class Caramel Mocha Latte here.
Another big plus with these Cinnamon Apple Cheesecakes is that they taste great cold, which makes them a wonderful make and take snack or dessert!
I always think of baked apples or apple pie as needing to be warm, but cheesecake is great cold and this combination will warm your heart and satisfy your deep need for apple pie and cheesecake on all these levels with the convenience of a quick snack or dessert.
One cheesecake filled apple half or whole apple will make a great E dessert or snack. If you’re an apple lover just slice off the top of the apple and use the whole fruit. If you’re going more for the apple flavored cheesecake experience then just use two apples and the same amount of filling for a more dessert type treat that is just barely misses qualifying as a FP dessert so it’s very light.
Let me say too that I have never spent more time converting/creating a recipe to fit this diet plan and I have never enjoyed presenting one more. I could eat these every day!
** Update: after posting this recipe I discovered that my friend and fellow blogger Jennifer has a single serve Apple Cottage Cheese recipe that you might want to check out too. It is different but hey the more apple/cheese anything the better. I’ll probably try that one too.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Optional Caramel Syrup – but so delicious with the S dessert version of this dish!
(To drizzle over the cheesecakes – this makes more than you need and tastes fantastic in coffee or on pancakes E or S)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup Gentle Sweet (or other on plan sweetener to taste)
1/16 – 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (I use a high-quality organic)
1/2 teaspoon caramel extract (I use Watkins brand from Wal-Mart)
1 dash high mineral salt
1 teaspoon butter
Heat water to almost boiling and remove from heat. Whisk in sweetener, xanthan gum, flavorings, mineral salt and butter.
The bottom picture shows the whole apple but I will replace it soon, hopefully, because I did end up cutting a small amount of top off of it before sprinkling it to hold the filling on top better.
This shows the apple halves sprinkled and filled then placed in the small bowls and placed in a casserole dish with an inch or so of water to protect the bowls.
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Cinnamon Apple Cheesecakes
Ingredients
Apples - for a rich dessert- Serves 4
- 2 granny smith apples (medium sized) cut in half
Apples - for E snack or dessert:
- 4 Granny Smith apples (medium sized) the the top cut off and cored
Cinnamon/Sweetener for apples - Serves 4
- 1 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon/sweetener mixture (1 part cinnamon to 2 parts Gentle Sweet) -or other- to taste - (divided)
Cheesecake filling:
- 4 tablespoons low fat cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon Gentle Sweet (or other on plan sweetener to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the rich apple cheesecake E dessert:
- Slice each apple in half and remove the core, then sprinkle with a total of 1 tablespoon cinnamon/sweetener mixture divided among the 4 apples halves .
For an E snack or dessert:
- Slice off the tops of each apple and core then sprinkle all with 1 tablespoon of the cinnamon/sweetener mixture
- Reserve the 1/2 tablespoon from the original 1 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon/sweetener to sprinkle over the top of the cream cheese topping once the apples are stuffed. (This is pretty and flavorful but can get a burnt look on top if you sprinkle on too much because they do have to bake a while). You could also sprinkle it on after they are out of the oven but still warm enough to melt in.
- Put the cream cheese in a glass bowl and allow to soften or place in the microwave for 30 seconds.
- Blend the cream cheese, sweetener, and vanilla extract.
- Fill the apples evenly with the cream cheese mixture and place in small bowls and put them into a casserole dish with an inch or two of water. *If you just don't have the small bowls (as pictured) to do this they might also fit in rounded coffee cups - see note in post**
- Sprinkle the reserved 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon/sweetener mixture from above onto the tops of the cream cheese filled apples.
- Place the casserole dish in the preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 35 minutes and test the apple part for fork tenderness. Mine were done in 40 minutes oven times vary.
Love love how u show us step by step along with pics, that’s very thoughtful of you, thank you! Can’t wait to try this.
Well thanks so much for the encouragement Lydia. It’s good to know that it is helping!
Could you make a printable for this? 🙂
It’s there Sarah. You just have to scroll down past all the pictures. 🙂
Hello there! First let me thank you for saving me with this amazing dessert. I’m smelling it and anxiously waiting for to cool down enough to eat! I am working on the caramel sauce but I can’t get it to set up. I used 1/8 tsp of the xantham gum. Will it st as it cools or do I maybe need to add more? I foresee this being a regular sweet treat for us now that we’ve started thm. Thanks so much for sharing it!!
Hi Laura! Yes you absolutely can add more if you need it. I recommend the minimum amount that I can because it will set up a little and if you over do it can get a little slimy(not as much as some binders, but a little).