DEAR JEANNE,

My husband is on a low-fat, heart-healthy diet. I would like to know whether there is a way to revise this recipe to lighten the fat content (and calories, too) so that it may be included in our ''special day treats'' recipes. A friend says it is a wonderful tart, but I haven't tried it because of my dietary concerns. Any help you can give would be appreciated. Monica Palian, DuBois, Pa.MANDARIN ORANGE TART

Crust: 3/4 cup butter, softened; 11/2 cups flour; 1/3 cup powdered sugar; and 1/4 teaspoons salt.

Cream cheese layer: 6 ounces softened cream cheese; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 2 tablespoons Watkins Mandarin Orange Fruit Dip Mix; 2 tablespoons softened butter; and 2 tablespoons milk.

Top layer: 5 ounces (1/2 bag) marshmallows; 1/2 cup milk; 3 tablespoons Watkins Mandarin Orange Fruit Dip Mix; 3/4 cup whipping cream; and 1 can mandarin oranges (drained).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix crust ingredients together until a soft dough forms. Press into the bottom of a 10-inch pie or tart pan and prick well. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool.

Beat together cream cheese, vanilla, dip mix, butter and milk until smooth. Spread over pie crust.

Melt marshmallows and milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Let cool. When cool, stir in the dip mix. Whip the whipping cream until soft peaks form. Fold into the cooled marshmallow mixture.

Pour half of the mixture over the cream cheese layer. Place mandarin oranges on the marshmallow mixture. Pour the rest of the marshmallow mixture over the oranges. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 8 servings. Dear Monica,

The Watkins Mandarin Orange Fruit Dip Mix is a sweetened orange-flavored powder. You can use any kind of flavored powder. You will need to use much less if you use a sugar-free flavor. You could use a drink mix or even a flavored gelatin. You could use natural fruit flavors from fruit purees, concentrate or jam, or lemon, lime or orange zest.

This is a recipe that can be changed to use any fruit flavor. Just replace some of the milk with the fruit puree and use pieces of the same fruit.

I found the mandarin oranges in juice with no sugar added, but they were not available in every store. I also thought that adding fruit would make it even better. And to make it easier and reduce the fat, I changed the crust to a graham-cracker one, which you can now buy in a reduced-fat version.

LOW-FAT MANDARIN ORANGE TART 6 ounces fat-free cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup orange-juice concentrate, thawed, divided use 1 package (6-serving size) sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix 11/3 cups cold nonfat milk 1/4 tsp. orange-flavored sugar-free drink mix 1 reduced-fat graham-cracker crust 1 tub (8 ounces) fat-free frozen whipped topping, thawed 1 can (15 ounces) mandarin oranges in juice, drained (about 11/2 cups)

Place the cream cheese in a medium bowl and beat in 2 tablespoons of the orange-juice concentrate. Set aside.

In another bowl, beat the pudding mix with the milk. Beat in the orange drink mix powder and the other 2 tablespoons of orange-juice concentrate. Remove 1/4 cup of the pudding mix and add it to the cream-cheese mixture. Spread this mixture over the bottom of the graham-cracker crust.

Add the whipped topping to the remaining pudding mixture and fold in carefully. Place half of the whipped topping mixture on the cream cheese mixture. Cover with 1 cup of the orange sections, then top with the remaining whipped topping and 1/2 cup of orange sections. Refrigerate at least 1 hour to set.

Makes 8 servings.

Each serving contains approximately:

Original recipe 555 calories, 37 grams fat, 111 milligrams cholesterol, 419 milligrams sodium, 53 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams protein and 1 gram fiber.

Revised recipe 264 calories, 4 grams fat, 2 milligrams cholesterol, 426 milligrams sodium, 40 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams protein and negligible fiber.

Send your recipe for revision to:

Cook It Light

Akron Beacon Journal

P.O. Box 1212

La Jolla, CA 92038

Please include a stamped (58 cents), self-addressed envelope. You also can submit requests at http://www.jeannejones.com.