I had originally planned to make these cheesecake-stuffed strawberries on Saturday night so I could bring them to my aunt’s house for Mother’s Day on Sunday. But alas, things don’t always go according to plan: On Saturday around 7:30 pm I was driving to Home Depot and I got a flat tire! Fortunately I wasn’t alone, or I would have freaked out. But what was supposed to be a quick trip to Home Depot ended up turning into a several-hour ordeal, and by the time I got home I was exhausted.

So even though I had all of the ingredients ready to go, I did NOT end up making this recipe for Mother’s Day. Womp womp. But I did make it a few days later…while I was at work! On Tuesday morning I woke up early so that I could make the cheesecake mixture. Then I packed the ingredients into my huge purse, and when I got to work I put everything in the fridge until lunchtime.

The scene at my table during lunch was kind of funny. I had plates, knives, napkins, a tray, strawberries, nuts, and the cheesecake mixture laid out in front of me. As I sat at the table cutting and scooping out the insides of the strawberries, my friend commented that she felt like she was watching a cooking segment on tv.

I would have been done with everything relatively quickly if I didn’t need to stop at every stage and take pictures for this blog! The “photo shoot” took a turn for the ridiculous when my friends started posing for pictures with the strawberries. I’m sure people in the lunchroom were wondering what the hell we were doing!

I had only used half of my cheesecake mixture, so yesterday I brought the rest of it with me to work, along with another quart of strawberries. This time I prepared the strawberries a little differently – after hollowing out the strawberries I turned them upside down so that any liquid would drain out. I also cut some of the strawberries at the tip so I could stand them up for pictures, and in a few I just made an X at the tip instead of slicing off the stem.

Tips for this recipe:

1. Make sure to really hollow out the strawberries. Otherwise the strawberry flavor kind of overpowers the cheesecake flavor, which is the best part!

2. Make sure to dry the strawberries off really well. You don’t need to drain them for hours like I did – I’m sure using a napkin would have sufficed!

3. If you decide to make the “X” cut into the tip, don’t cut too low if you’re planning on cutting off the stem – otherwise the strawberry will fall apart:

Sugar-free Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries

Ingredients:

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 lb. of fresh strawberries, washed
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 tsp. Truvia
• Chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Cut off the stems of the strawberries and cut out some of the insides. (If you want them look pretty, like for a party or something, then cut off a little bit off the tip so you can stand them up.) Or, you can slice open the tip of the strawberry and fill it from that end.

2. Beat the cream cheese, vanilla and Truvia for a minute or two, then spoon it into a plastic baggie (or a pastry bag if you fancy – I’m not!).

3. Snip off one corner of the baggie and squeeze the cheesecake into the strawberry.

4. Dip the cheesecake end into the chopped walnuts (or any nut, or graham crackers, chocolate, etc.)

That’s all there is to it! So easy.

P.S. – One of the ways I determine whether or not a sugar-free recipe is really delicious is by feeding it to my non-dieting friends. So I’m pleased to report that my friends all loved it.

Enjoy!