Lighter New York Cheesecake

(from The Best Light Recipe)

crust:
9 graham crackers
4 T melted butter
1 T sugar

filling:
1 pound 1% cottage cheese
1 pound light cream cheese (philadelphia)
8 oz low-fat yogurt cheese (if you can't find it/make it you can use fat-free sour cream, it just impacts the flavor)
1.5 cups sugar
1/2 t salt
1.5 t lemon zest
1.5 t vanilla
3 large eggs (room temperature)
vegetable oil spray

1. preheat oven to 325. mix crushed graham crackers, butter, and sugar in a bowl. press into a springform pan and bake 10-15 minutes, until just beginning to brown. cool on a wire rack, increase oven to 500.

2. drain cottage cheese for 30 minutes through a cheesecloth (squeeze out extra liquid, it's important for the texture of the cake!)

3. process cottage cheese in a food processor or blender until smooth (about 3 minutes)

4. add cream cheese and yogurt-cheese/sour cream, process until smooth (about 3 minutes)

5. add sugar, salt, lemon zest, vanilla, eggs. process for another 3-5 minutes.

6. pour mixture into cooled crust. bake 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 200 without opening oven. continue to bake for about 1.5 hours.

7. cool for 2.5-3 hours, running a knife around the edge to loosen the crust.

8. refrigerate at least 3 hours befre serving.