Let me tell you a story….a story of a couple who is obsessed on visiting sushi restaurants every.single.place.we. travel! I swear. It doesn’t matter where we go, we always want to try a sushi restaurant. So, when Mr. Amanda and I traveled to Savannah, Georgia for our honeymoon in April 2008, it was no different. I’m sure you’re asking yourself where this is going…believe me, I’m getting there 
So, one of our many evenings of eating out, we found a very interesting looking sushi restaurant off of the main strip (this is important people—if you don’t know anything about eating out, some of the BEST restaurants are found off the beaten path…SWEAR!). We were instantly sold and decided to have dinner there (like I said, we HAVE to have sushi each time we visit a location–it’s a necessity). Once inside, it was such a beautiful looking restaurant–very “Asian” with waterfalls, coy ponds, etc. We were seated toward the back of the restaurant and within seconds a bouncing young man came to greet us. This is when the story gets interesting. The young man was a fabulous server–so enthusiastic and quick to bring refills, etc. Once we had devoured our amazing sushi rolls (I’m sure, a whopping 5-10 minutes after they arrived–we are Guinness World Record quick when it comes to eating sushi. I swear, we amaze people constantly), our enthusiastic server returned. He asked us if we wanted dessert, and since we already had our minds set on a bowl of gelato from “Cafe Gelatohhhhh”, quickly told him no thank you. He then told us that we were missing out because they had “Tiramisuuuuuuuuu”. This doesn’t sound like much, but just think of the most masculine man you know, with their body pressed up against a doorframe, kicking their foot up behind them, stretching out the word, Tir-a-mi-suuuuuuuuuuuuu. I swear, we haven’t stopped talking about it since…..and it’s been almost 2 years.
Now, we enjoy a good tiramisu, but it wasn’t until that trip that we made a real effort to try it places, as it seems almost like “our” dessert–an inside joke that takes us back to such a wonderful time in our lives. So, when I picked up a Taste of Home magazine at the store the other day (shocker, I know…me? Picking up a Taste of Home? I’m sure you’re totally shocked!), and saw a tiramisu cheesecake, I knew that I 1) had to try it, and 2) had to try to make it healthier. When I saw that one of the first ingredients was 4, count them….1, 2, 3, 4 (!!!!!)….packages of cream cheese, my heart almost had a heart attack just THINKING about it! So, I knew some work needed to be done! So, this is attempt #1. I made it, realized it was DELICIOUS and still quite high in calories, so I’m now working on attempt #2! However, it is delicious, and if you want a good decadent dessert, this is your friend!
Tir-a-mis—SUUUEEEEE: Decadent Tiramisu Cheesecake
Ingredients
6-7 Whole Reduced Fat Graham Cracker Sheets
3.5 tsp instant coffee, divided
2.5 Tb hot water, divided
2 packages (8 oz each) 1/3 Less Fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 c + 2 Tb Splenda Baking Blend
1/2 c Light sour cream
1/2 c Egg Beaters
1/2 c Cool Whip Free, thawed
1/2 Tb baking cocoa
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Grease a square glass baking dish (mine is an 8 x 
with nonstick cooking spray, or “grease” of choice
Layer approximately half of your graham crackers on the bottom of your dish–or just enough to cover the bottom, with no overlaps!
In a small bowl dissolve 1 tsp of the coffee granules with 1 Tb hot water. Brush on the graham crackers.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and sour cream until smooth. Add the Egg beaters and beat on low speed just until combined. Divide the cream cheese mixture in half. Dissolve 1.5 tsp coffee granules in 0.5 Tb hot water. Once dissolved, mix into one portion of the batter.
Spread the coffee-infused batter over the graham crackers. Layer with the other half of the graham crackers. Dissolve the remaining 1 tsp coffee granules in 1 Tb hot water, and then brush on the graham crackers.
Top with the remaining portion of cream cheese batter.
Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 40-45 minutes or until the center is almost set. Cool (it will take about 30 minutes-1 hour for this to completely cool).
Top with the cool whip, and then dust with the cocoa. Refrigerate overnight before serving!*
Nutritional Information
Servings: 9
Per serving: 1 piece (1/9 of pan)
Calories: 250
Fat: 12.6 g
Fiber: 0.39 g
WW pts: 6
*You can eat this immediately, but I have to say that 1) it doesn’t taste quite as good when it’s not completely chilled, and 2) the longer it sits in the refrigerator, the more the flavors meld together and the more delicious it gets!!!
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