Reduced Fat 'Cream Cheese' Frosting

A few days ago my husband and son ganged up on me, with their lips sticking out in a pout. My husband asked me "Will you make cookies?" My son backed him up by saying "Cookies! Cookies!" I felt really bad to burst their bubble and tell them I didn't have the ingredients I needed to bake cookies. No Bakes were even out of the question.

I started looking around in my pantry and I had a Carrot Cake Mix. My husband frowned and asked me "What kind of icing does it come with?" Wouldn't you know it. It didn't come with frosting and I didn't have any pre-made frosting in the pantry either. Shoot!

Well, that never stops me from trying! It had been so seriously cold that I couldn't see dashing out just to buy a can of icing so I got busy and came up with a Reduced Fat 'Cream Cheese' Frosting recipe.

You will need:
4 ounces of Neufchâtel cheese (look for it right next to cream cheese at the grocer)
4 ounces of unsalted butter
2 cups of powdered sugar
2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract

This recipe is really easy.

Unwrap the Neufchâtel cheese and your butter. Place them in a microwave safe dish together and soften them. I microwaved them for about 15-20 seconds.

Then blend the Neufchâtel Cheese and Butter together on a slow speed until smooth.

Add powdered sugar to the butter and Neufchâtel Cheese Mixture. Continue to mix at a slow speed until the powdered sugar is incorporated. Then add the pure vanilla extract and mix for 1 minute.

Verdict:
I thought this frosting was fairly good, but it did have a little bit of a strong  flavor. I sprinkled a pouch of Sugar in the Raw over the frosting to make it a touch sweeter to combat the strong flavor from the Neufchâtel Cheese.


Neufchâtel Cheese contains 1/3 less fat than Cream Cheese. Neufchâtel is a French Cheese that has been a favorite since the 6th century. The process of making Neufchâtel has remained virtually the same. It is made with cows milk and is an unripened cheese. If left to ripen it will develop a bloomy rind that is much like Brie.

I have used Neufchâtel Cheese with mixed results to make my recipes a touch healthier. With Cheeseball, it is amazing and you cannot tell a difference. In desserts I have noticed a stronger flavor.

Do you have a favorite frosting recipe? I would love to hear about it in a comment.