STRAWBERRY DESSERT SQUARES

Looking for a refreshing summer dessert you can enjoy with your family or guests? If you have been invited to a gathering, need a dessert for a church picnic, etc, this is a good recipe to try. You can have a square of this dessert along with everyone else while knowing you are not putting your diabetic diet in danger. It is so good everyone can enjoy it without even realizing they are eating a diabetic dessert.

2 cups finely crushed sugar-free vanilla wafer crumbs
1/3 cup Splenda granular (or the equivalent amount of your favorite sweetener)
2/3 cup butter, melted
12-oz low or no fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup Splenda granular
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup thawed Sugar-free whipped topping
2 cups boiling water
1 pkg (8-serving size) sugar-free strawberry gelatin
1 1/2 cups cold water
2 pints strawberries, sliced
Additional whipped topping for garnish.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the vanilla wafer crumbs, 1/3 cup Splenda granular, and butter together. Press mixture firmly into the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Bake 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Beat the cream cheese, 1/4 cup Splenda granular, and milk until smooth using an electric mixer. Stir in the whipped topping; spread over the crumb layer and refrigerate.

In a large bowl, stir the boiling water into the gelatin until all the gelatin is dissolved. Stir in the cold water. Refrigerate for approximately 1 1/2 hours or until thickened. Stir in the strawberries and spoon over the cream cheese layer. Refrigerate for 3 hours or until firm. Cut into squares to serve. Top each square with a dollop of whipped topping, if desired.

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