Cooking Light ~ Celebrating birthdays with food

We have several birthdays in our Virtual Supper Club in the month of September . . . so we are celebrating birthdays with food ( is there any other way ? )
I love lemon bars ~ so I searched for this Cooking Light Recipe.


Butter Crunch Lemon Cheese Bars
Crust:
  • 1/3 cup butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground mace or nutmeg
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • Cooking spray
  • Filling:
    1 cup 1% low-fat cottage cheese
    1 cup granulated sugar
    2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
    3 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
    1/4 teaspoon baking powder
    1 large egg
    1 large egg white
    Preheat oven to 350°.
    To prepare crust, place first 4 ingredients in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Lightly spoon 1 cup flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Add 1 cup flour to butter mixture, and beat at low speed until well-blended. Press crust into an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes.
    To prepare filling, place cottage cheese in a food processor; process 2 minutes or until smooth, scraping sides of bowl once. Add 1 cup granulated sugar and remaining ingredients, and process until well-blended. Pour filling over crust.
    Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until set (the edges will get lightly browned), and cool. Cover and chill for 8 hours.
    Let me just say that cottage cheese is not a good substitute for cream cheese.
    I am not sure there is a good substitute for cream cheese. The lemmony flavor wasn't bad... but that cottage cheese texture turned me off.
    I saved lots of calories on this dish . . .
    Now let's see what everyone else has brought for our  birthday celebration . . .
    Jerry is kicking the party off with a Champagne Pomegranate Cocktail
     Val has an appetizer of Shrimp Bouillabaise Fondue 
    Giz is bringing dessert, with Peach Ice Cream
    This month we don't have a guest blogger ~ give a shout if you are interested in joining us.
    Y'all enjoy~
    Sandi