Boy, I came back from Hawaii last week to a heat wave in Reno. With temperatures over 100 degrees, cooking just isn’t a popular option in the kitchen. But something cool and tasty as well as quick and easy, that is right up my alley. Although it is quick to prepare, it does need to freeze for four hours, so plan accordingly.

I was reminded of freezer pies in a recent post from A Garden For the House where you can find the recipe for the higher calorie, higher carb version (and also much bigger) Frozen Blueberry Yogurt Pie. So I went to work to make low carb substitutions and make it a little simpler to make. The result is a delicious, low calorie, low carb icy cold cream cheese pie. You can make it with blueberries, raspberries or strawberries with equal success.

One other note, I used 2 tablespoons of low carb blackberry preserves from LC Foods. This isn’t necessary, but it adds a little more flavor to the pie. You can also use Smuckers sugar free jams or just add about another 1/4 cup of berries to the mix. The carb count may change slightly, but it won’t be too much.

Blackberry Almond Freezer Pie

Crust:
1/2 cups almond flour
2 tablespoons light brown sugar sub
2 tablespoons Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
10 blackberries
1/3 cup sugar substitute
5 oz cream cheese, softened
1/3 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons vanilla whey powder
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar sub, divided
1 6 oz Carbmaster vanilla yogurt
1 cup whipped cream or Cool Whip

Topping
8 tablespoons Cool Whip (or other whipped topping)
8 whole blackberries
mint leaves (if desired)

Coat a pie tin or an 8″ layer cake pan with cooking spray. In a small bowl, stir the almond flour, brown sugar substitute and butter together until well mixed. Spoon into the bottom of the pie tin or cake pan and spread to cover the bottom It will be a thin crust. I usually moisten my fingertips and use them to spread it. Put the pan into the freezer to firm up while you mix the rest of the pie.

In a medium-sized bowl, add the softened cream cheese, sugar substitute and vanilla extract and beat with the mixer until smooth. Add the vanilla yogurt and cool whip and mix until blended. Add berries, reserving 8 for the topping and stir them into the mixture.

Pour the mixture over the crust in the pie tin and smooth it with a spoon. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the freezer for at least four hours to set.

Remove pie, slice into 8 pieces and serve with a dollop of Cool whip topped with a fresh berry.

You can cut only the amount you are serving, cover the pie and put it back in the freezer. It can be frozen for at least a week. Take out pieces to be served and let defrost for about 30 minutes before serving. (If you don’t have four hours, it is still a servable pie after two hours, but isn’t as firm.)

Nutrition Information: (without the topping)
Calories: 131.3 Fat: 11.7 g Net Carbs: 3.2 g Protein: 3.5 g

POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 7/11/2013 1:22 PM