Remember last week when I shared with your our roasted strawberry cheesecake ice cream? And I professed my unabashed love for anything cheesecake related/flavored? Well we’re back on this second half of our great ice cream race, with another cheesecake themed treat. This time, cherry cheesecake to be exact.

I’ll bet most of you think of cheesecake as a guilty pleasure. Something sinfully delicious to sneak bites of when nobody’s looking or to avoid at all costs lest you be cast out of the loving land of denim and resigned to permament residence in the land of yoga pants.

Not anymore.

Healthy cherry cheesecake Popsicles. Need I say more??

With a homemade cherry syrup, chunks of fresh sweet, dark cherries, and a healthy, but rich and creamy tasting, cheesecake filling layered together, these Popsicles are nothing short of gourmet.

Cherry Cheesecake Greek Yogurt Popsicles

1½ lbs. fresh cherries, or 2 cups + 8, thawed frozen cherries
4 tbsp maple syrup or granulated sugar

For the cheesecake filling:
8 oz, ⅓ less fat neufchâtel cream cheese, softened
4 oz plain Greek yogurt
¼ cup + 2 tbsp skim milk
4-5 tbsp granulated sugar, you can use artificial sweetener instead, but will need less
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Remove 8 cherries, stem and pit them, then chop them into large pieces and set aside.
   Stem and pit the remaining cherries, or use 2 cups of thawed frozen cherries, and place in a blender with the maple syrup or sugar. Puree until smooth. Place in a fine mesh strainer set over a medium bowl and use a spoon to help it through. You’ll have about 1 cup of puree. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the yogurt, milk, 4 tablespoons of sugar, and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Taste, and add the last tablespoon of sugar if you’d like the filling to be sweeter.

3. Place some cherry puree in 6-8 popsicle molds, then layer with the cream cheese filling, dropping the chopped cherries into the filling as you go. Continue layering until you’re out of filling and puree, and place the sticks in the pops and freeze for a minimum of 3 hours or overnight. Unmold by running under cold water for 30 seconds, serve, and enjoy!