Greek Yogurt Cheesecake without Sour Cream

Greek Yogurt Cheesecake is simple quick and just a bit healthier than a traditional cheesecake without giving up the creamy cheesecake taste.  The crust is made with vanilla wafers with added lemon paste which pairs nicely with the black berry topping.  I keep several variety of St. Dalfour fruit spread in my pantry for a super quick cheesecake topping.

Ingredients

What you need:

Vanilla Wafers
Butter
Lemon Extract
Plain Greek Yogurt
Cream Cheese
Eggs
Sugar
St. Dalfour Black Cherry fruit spread

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and place the oven rack in the middle.

Coat a 5 or 6-inch Springform pans with cooking spray and wrap the outside bottom of the Springform pan with aluminum foil, coming up halfway on the sides.

Use a small food processor to crush the wafers into fine crumbs

In a medium bowl add the crushed wafers and butter. Mix until well moistened.

Stir in the lemon extract.

Press the crumbs into the bottom of the Springform pan, the crust will be a little less than ½ inch thick.  If you want a thicker crust increase the amount of wafers and butter used.

Bake the crust for 5 minutes and let cool while preparing the cheesecake batter. 

In a medium bowl mix the cream cheese and sugar, using a hand mixer cream until the sugar is dissolved.

Add in the Greek yogurt and egg and mix until well blended.

Pour the batter into the Springform pan and place on the baking sheet.

Add around a ½ cup of water to the baking sheet and bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes.

Tips on how to make the vanilla wafer crust

The old fashion way is to break up the wafers into small pieces and put into a large plastic bag, then roll a rolling pin over the bag to crush the wafers.  Turn the bag over several time to get all the crumbs finely crushed.  The quick way is to use a small food processor like the 3.5 cup  Kitchenaid, however this involves a little clean-up afterwards.  I'll use my processor when making a larger cheesecake crust, and the bag method when making a small 5-6 inch cheesecake.

1. Crush 20-22 vanilla wafers in a plastic bag or food processor.
2. Add the butter and lemon extract and mix until moist.
3. Press this into the bottom of a greased 6 or 7 inch Springform pan.
4. Press down gently, but firmly until the crust is evenly distributed on the bottom of the pan
5. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 5 minutes,  set aside while you make the cheesecake batter

You use the same process for a graham cracker crust.

More Cheesecakes

Small Banana Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Easy Cream Cheese Pie with Lemon and Sour Cream Topping

No Bake Cheesecake Mousse Dessert