I wouldn't recommend rye flour, but rice flour is OK as a filler as is wheat flour. The soy flour is quite cheap usually. The more they are baked and dried out the longer they will last without any special care. Even an egg or two can be mixed in as it too gets baked, so they will not spoil quickly. Bake them at about 300 degrees or a little less. The dogs love crunchy stuff, good for their teeth. You can keep them in the fridge if you are really concerned. I have TWO freezers here and both are quite full. Rarely do I shop at the sup[ermarkets unless something is on sale really cheap. This week, boneless rib eye steaks (resturant quality) for $3.99 a pound. Boneless/skinless chicken breasts $1.69 a pound, but I have plenty of them already. Gotta start using some of my frozen broccoli, and yellow waxed beans from this last summer. Ive got about 5 or so gallon bags of each.

Thanks again for all the input, everyone. After sharing some jars from my test batch I can definitely say that I'm going with the low-sugar this year. My main reason for wanting it was simply the amount of sugar in the normal Ball recipes - I tend to give away quite a bit of what I make and the only complaint I've recieved, quite regularly, is that it's too sweet. The reduced sugar level definitely lets more of the fruit flavors shine through, without the overpowering taste of sugar. For reference, I used the recipe in the box, 4 cups black raspberry juice (from ~1.5 quarts of berries and enough water to come halfway up them in the pan) and 3 cups of sugar - Yeild was around 2.5 pints...I could have probably got some more, but I didn't realize how fast this stuff jels up. Normally, after finishing the rolling boil, I let it sit for about 2-3 minutes - this way the foam forms a kind of "skin" and is much easier to skim off - The low sugar set so quick that I lost nearly a quarter of a pint just in skimming th foam. ...Will be clearing out my freezer this week and making up some jelly - Should get around 10-12 pints each of black raspberry and blackberry with what's in there now, and yes, I will be firing up the water canner. Thinking about taking some down to the local farmer's market as well to see if the owners would be interested in selling any. -Thanks again for the info, I do appreciate the comments and concerns...

I try not to put in a comment if I don't have something particular to contribute. I liked looking at your recipes. There are a lot of somewhat similar (but not) cheesecake recipes that are basically a block of cream cheese with a heap of sugar, and just reading the ingredients is a turn off for me. While your recipes have a lot of cream cheese, there's far less sugar by proportion, and some finesse. I will say, however, that the reason people use pudding is that the mixes have conditioners, thickeners, colorants, flavors, and preservatives. That makes the recipes very forgiving. And then, of course, the recipes are passed to people who could do without it, but that's the recipe, even though it was originally for people who don't know how to bake. The plain gelatin as a thickener, and none of the other chemicals, might require some sense and knowledge, such as if the cream is too watery, or the cheese too stiff. So there's my something added. I've only ever made baked cheesecakes, but if I had occasion to make a chilled one, I'd try one of your recipes. Thank-you for posting.

I haven't done it, but I think you need to adjust the fat as well. So I looked it up. There's a conversion chart out there. https://whatscookingamerica.net/ChocolateSubstitutionChart.htm It says: 1-ounce unsweetened baking chocolate and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar for every 1-ounce semi-sweet baking chocolate. ==OR== 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips or morsels – plus cut sugar by 1/4 cup and shortening by 1 tablespoon in your recipe. Another source: http://chocolatecrafter.com/conversionsfordi.html To use bittersweet or semisweet instead of unsweetened chocolate: For every ounce of unsweetened called for in the recipe, use 2 1/2 ounces of the bittersweet or semisweet chocolate. Decrease the sugar in the recipe by 2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons per ounce of original chocolate Decrease the butter in the recipe by 1/2 tablespoon per ounce of original chocolate Good luck!