Strawberry Cheesecake Cookie Stacks

By á-31143

Fresh strawberries shine in this crispy, creamy layered dessert by pastry chef Lynnette Beck. Creamy strawberry filling sandwiches with almond-crusted phyllo.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 4 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup frozen strawberries, thawed
• 1 cup 1 percent cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar, divided
• 8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2/3 cup almonds, slivered
• 5 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 1 pint fresh strawberries, thinly sliced

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cover 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place milk in a small saucepan. Sprinkle with gelatin; allow to rest until gelatin absorbs and begins to puff up on the surface of milk, about 15 minutes.

Heat milk and gelatin on medium to medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin completely dissolves, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Set aside.

Blend frozen strawberries, cottage cheese and 1/4 cup sugar in a blender until smooth. Add cream cheese and lemon juice and blend until creamy. Add gelatin mixture and blend until smooth.

Pour into a bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until firm, 1 to 2 hours.

Grind almonds and 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor.

Spread 1 phyllo sheet on a large cutting board; coat with a thin layer of cooking spray. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoon almond mixture. Stack another phyllo sheet on top and repeat. Continue until you have 5 layers, ending with almonds on top. Coat with a thin layer of cooking spray.

Cut sheet into 12 evenly sized rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally to form triangles.

Transfer cookies to 2 baking sheets. Bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Spread 3 tablespoons cheesecake filling and a few strawberry slices on a cookie. Add another cookie on top and repeat filling and strawberry slices. Top with another cookie, and end with filling and strawberries. Serve immediately or store cookies and filling separately until you are ready to serve them.