Crust:

• 5 T organic butter, softened
• 5 T xylitol
• 1 cup organic Spelt flour
• 1/4 t sea salt
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans

Filling:

• 12 oz. full-fat organic cottage cheese
• Two 8-oz packages softened organic full-fat cream cheese
• 3/4 cup xylitol or coconut sugar
• 3 organic eggs
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 t almond extract
• 1 cup kefir cheese or organic sour cream
• 1 cup unsweetened Greek Yogurt
• Fresh strawberries, blueberries or raspberries (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

Crust:
Cream the butter and the 5 tablespoons xylitol together until fluffy. Stir in the flour, salt, and pecans. Butter the bottom and sides of one large springform pan or two smaller onesl. Press about half of the crust dough on the bottoms of the pans and up the sides about 1 inch (or all of it in the larger size). Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until light golden. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Filling:
Cream the cottage cheese in a food processor or blender until smooth. Beat cream cheese and 3/4 cup xylitol together until fluffy and add the creamed cottage cheese and mix. Add the eggs, one at a time until just blended. Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Combine the kefir cheese or sour cream with the yoghurt and then gently fold into the cream cheese mixture.

For a flavored swirl, puree either strawberries, blueberries or raspberries. Pour half of the filling into the 2 pans. Add a few dollops of fruit on top of batter all the way around and in the middle. Top with remaining batter. Using a wide knife, draw it through the batter creating swirls for marbeling effect.

Bake:
I baked this at 300 degrees for 1-1/2 hours. When time is up, turn off oven and slightly prop oven door for an additional 30 minutes. Take out of oven and let it sit on the counter for an additional 30 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Remove cheesecake from fridge and let it set to warm up a bit.  It will be easier to get out of the pan.  Carefully remove sides of pan. Run a flat and wide knife around the bottom of the pan all the way around, cutting away from you. Slide the cheesecake onto a serving platter or just slice and serve. Top with additional fruit when serving. I used frozen, thawed and crushed blueberries. Makes a pretty cheesecake.

You can also just make it plain without the fruit, if desired.