Cheesecake Treats (no bake)

This was inspired by the wonderful World According to Eggface blog. I'm a little lazier than Shelly is, and I like my cheesecake sweeter, so this is how I make these treats.

one 15-oz container part-skim ricotta cheese
4 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese
1 package (4 servings) SF/FF cheesecake pudding mix (see note below**)
2-3 tbl Splenda (or to taste)
1/4 tsp almond extract (use vanilla, lemon, coconut, or other flavoring if you don't like almond)

*Note: if desired, you can split the ricotta mixture into 2 batches and flavor one with a tablespoon (or more) of SF hot cocoa mix.

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl until well combined. Use as filling for "tarts" or stuffed strawberries (see below). You can use a small spoon to do the filling, or put the ricotta mixture in a zip-lock plastic bag, snip off a corner, and squeeze it out. (And then, if you're like me, you'll turn the bag inside out and lick off the stuff that got stuck to the plastic.)

TARTS (If you assemble these too far ahead of time, the "crusts" will get soggy)
Just before serving, plop 1-2 teaspoons of ricotta mixture onto your "crusts" - Oreo thin crisp cookies, mini vanilla wafers, graham crackers, mini Lorna Doones, or small gingerbread cookies. Decorate with fruit (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherry halves, or small pieces of other fruit of your choice), shavings of SF chocolate, drizzled SF chocolate or caramel sauce, nuts, fresh mint leaves, a dab of no-sugar-added jam, or toasted coconut.

STUFFED STRAWBERRIES (You can prepare these up to 12 hours in advance)
Hull some medium-sized strawberries and cut a cone out of the center to remove the white part. Put 1-2 teaspoons of ricotta mixture into each berry and arrange on a serving plate.

I don't know how many tarts or berries you'll get out of this amount of ricotta mixture - it depends on how generous you are with it. Having leftover ricotta mixture is certainly no hardship. Eat it like pudding, or roll it up inside a crepe, or spread it on toast.

Lisa and I served these treats on a 3-tiered glass serving plate, with a mixture of tarts, stuffed strawberries, and whole fresh cherries, raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries. It was beautiful to behold and I wish we'd taken a photograph of it because it was empty in about 3 minutes!