Tammy Ljungblad / Kansas City Star Reduced-fat Cheesecake Bars are a festive dessert.

By definition, cheesecake is creamy, luscious, rich and decadent.

But the Center for Science in the Public Interest put the Cheesecake Factory's 6 Carb Original on its 10 Worst Foods You Should Never Eat list. Calorie-count.com concurs, giving commercially prepared cheesecakes a D+.

The culprit is saturated fat, which typically hovers at 30 to 50 grams per serving. An average person who consumes a 2,000-calorie diet with 30 percent calories from fat should consume about 67 grams in an entire day.

Two ways to beat a failing grade?

Cheesecake Bars use a base of reduced-fat cream cheese.

The French call reduced-fat cream cheese Neufchatel, and it has a fat content between 16.5 percent and 20 percent milk fat versus the 33 percent milk fat in regular cream cheese.

Then we reduced the portion size from a thick wedge to a snack-size square, just enough to satisfy a craving.

Shopping tip: It might be tempting to wring all the fat out, but fat-free cream cheese will not produce the same results as reduced-fat cream cheese.

Cooking tip: To fan a strawberry, use a very sharp knife and slice thinly, cutting toward the stem but not cutting through the top edge. Gently push the thin slices apart to form a fan shape.

To melt semisweet chocolate morsels, place chocolate in a small, resealable plastic bag. Place the sealed bag in a bowl of very hot water. Allow to stand until chocolate is melted.

Dry bag thoroughly, then clip the corner of the bag and squeeze gently to pipe the chocolate.

Cheesecake Bars

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 (8-ounce) package reduced-fat cream cheese (not fat-free), softened

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup egg substitute

1 tablespoon 1 percent milk

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

12 fresh strawberries, fanned

1/4 cup semisweet morsels, melted, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with release-type foil.

Using a mixer, cream butter and brown sugar together. Add flour and mix until combined. Measure out 3/4 cup of this mixture and reserve for topping. Press remaining dough in bottom of prepared pan.

Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Beat cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Add egg substitute, milk, lemon juice and vanilla; blend until smooth. Spread filling over crust. Sprinkle reserved mixture evenly on top of filling. Bake for 22 to 24 minutes; allow to cool slightly, then refrigerate at least 1 hour. Cut into 12 squares and top each square with a strawberry fan. If desired, drizzle chocolate over top. Makes 12 servings.

Nutritional information per serving, without chocolate: 166 calories (44 percent from fat), 8 g total fat (5 g saturated), 24 mg cholesterol, 20 g carbohydrates, 4 g protein, 117 mg sodium, trace dietary fiber.

— Recipe developed by professional home economists Kathryn Moore and Roxanne Wyss.

— Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.