This is so creamy and light as air. Your healthy guests will love it so much. You can add an additional 1/4 cup of sugar to this recipe if you wish, but I prefer it with less sugar. Feel free to experiment. The base is totally up to you. Use any crackers you love: graham crackers, animal crackers, ginger snaps, gluten free, or even Oreos! Be sure to use a lot of cookies, so the cookie base goes up the sides of the cheesecake.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine cookies of choice in the blender and add the flax. Blend until they are broken into crumbs and dump into a bowl.

Melt butter and add to the crumbs. Mix. Butter pan all the way up the sides and bottom. Press the crust into pan. Smooth with some parchment paper. Bake for 8 minutes.

Then, lower top rack so it’s in the upper middle of the oven and add a baking sheet. This is an important step.

In a clean blender, add the cottage cheese and block of cream cheese. Using the agitator stick, blend until smooth. Add sugar, egg yolks only (it’s fine if some egg white gets into the yolks), blend until creamy.

Pour mixture into bowl. Add the cornstarch and mix well. Add the pumpkin puree and mix until smooth and no lumps remain. Add cinnamon to taste.

In a stand mixer, add the egg whites about 4, if it’s a little less it’s fine. Whip into stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the filling. Don’t over mix. Pour into the pan and smooth the top.

Place onto the baking sheet and bake until firm about 1 hour 30 minutes, this is an estimate.

Check at 1:20. Turn off oven once it’s solidified and still a bit jiggly. Open oven door and let it sit about 20 minutes. Watch for browning.

There will be leftover filling to make minis.