Strawberry-Almond Tart & Oliver’s 2nd Birthday

Hey guys I'm back!

And I have so many delicious recipes to share,

including THIS Strawberry-Almond Tart.

It's also Oliver's 2nd birthday today!

As most of y'all know, he's my little pride and joy so I plan on celebrating his birthday the same as if he was my human child...I know, don't judge.  Remember last year's post??  Well this year I made him "pup"cakes and got him a new bed!  Pretty sure he still has most of the treats leftover from last year so I didn't go too crazy.

He's such a good boy and I can't believe he's already two!!
Sorry he looks so disheveled, he needs groomed. 

But more about his birthday later, I have a must-have
recipe to share with you.

Ok so I'm not gonna lie, this tart turned out SO delicious!  It's low in fat and calories, is super easy to make and I bet you have most of the ingredients already on hand.  A graham cracker crust with a cheesy, vanilla filling all tied together with a sweet strawberry glaze, this tart has a sinful taste with guilt-free worry!

Best part is, the crust and filling can be prepared up to two days ahead of time for easy assembly the morning of your brunch or party!  The strawberry glaze itself is amazing all on its own and yields extra for a yummy ice cream topping or even for pound cake.

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Servings: 10

Serving Size: one slice

Calories: 289

Fat: 8.9 g

Carbs: 48.7 g

Fiber: 3 g

Protein: 4.5 g

Old Points: 5.9 pts

Points+: 8 pts

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Here are your ingredients:

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light

Crust

36 honey graham crackers (about 9 sheets)

2 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp light butter, melted

4 tsp. water

Cooking spray

Filling

2/3 cup light cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. almond extract

Topping

6 cups small fresh strawberries, divided

2/3 cup sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp sliced almonds, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  To prepare crust, place crackers in a food processor and process until crumbly.  Add 2 tablespoons sugar, butter and water and pulse until moist.  Place graham cracker mixture in a 9-inch round removable-bottom tart pan (or 8 x 12-inch rectangular pan) coated with cooking spray, pressing into bottom and up the sides of the pan to 3/4 inch.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare filling, combine cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar and extracts in a medium bowl and stir until smooth.  Spread mixture evenly over bottom of tart shell.

To prepare topping, place 2 cups strawberries in your food processor and process until pureed.  Combine strawberry puree, 2/3 cup sugar and cornstarch in a small saucepan over medium-heat, stirring constantly with a whisk.  Bring to a boil, continuing to stir constantly, and reduce heat to low.  Cook for 1 minute.  Remove glaze from heat, and cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

Combine 4 cups of strawberries and juice; toss to coat.  Arrange berries, bottoms up, in a circular pattern over filling.  Spoon half of glaze evenly over berries and reserve remaining glaze for ice cream topping or any other use you desire).  Sprinkle toasted almonds around edge, cover and chill up to 3 hours.  Enjoy!

Click here for a printable version of this recipe

I can't wait to hear how you all like this recipe!  I swear I could just take a spoon to the glaze, it's that good!

So on to Oliver's birthday!  Here's some pictures from over the weekend, I made us cupcakes (funfetti style...no not skinny) and made him a few "pup"cakes using whole wheat flour and carrots.

I think he had a pretty good birthday.

Thanks for reading friends and thanks AGAIN for all your well-wishes!  I'm feeling much better now, but was in bed for 3 days and have a TON of e-mails to respond to.  Thanks so much for your patience, I promise I will write you back!!