Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
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A break from pumpkin
With all the pumpkin flying around my kitchen the past several weeks, I knew I had to shift gears.
It was time to bring the cranberries out of the shadows and into the spotlight with my Cranberry Cheesecake Bars….and it’s a shining star!!!
Keto Baking Tips & Resources
Keto baking can be a little daunting. Ingredients are expensive and work differently than regular sugar and flour. Allulose is particularly interesting and I wrote a deep dive into what it’s all about HERE.
It’s a unique no carb sugar that works really well with my Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce.
Read here for all my Keto and Low Carb Baking tips and resources.
The Cranberry Sauce (Sugar Free)
If you’ve ever made cranberry sauce from scratch you know how incredibly easy it is to make. I had been eating canned cranberry jelly filled with sugar for decades.
Who knew I could make my favorite Thanksgiving side dish low carb? And that no one even knows!
Here is the recipe for my Keto Cranberry Sauce
The sweetener I use is Allulose and it stays soft and jelly-like. This is not your typical store bought sweetener and you will have to get online, but it’s worth it for all your caramels, jams and citrus curds.
I was able to use that sugar free cranberry sauce in these awesome Cranberry Cheesecake Bars.
The Crust
Then there’s the crust for my Cranberry Cheesecake Bars….I wanted it to be like a short bread or a traditional pie crust. I used my favorite stand by recipe for low carb pie crust with a little coconut flour for texture.
Press the dough into a parchment lined my 6×9″ pan. The parchment paper or even tin foil are necessary in order to remove the Cranberry Cheesecake bars from the pan after cooling.
The Assembly
Once the crust has baked for 10 minutes I set it aside to cool. While the crust is cooling I whip together the cream cheese, sweetener, eggs and vanilla.
Pour the cheesecake mixture into your pre-baked crust. Then place small spoonful dollop the cranberry sauce evenly over the cream cheese mixture.
Lastly you are going to gently drag a knife edge through the red and white mixture to decoratively mix the two together. Get creative, but not aggressive with this step.
Ready to Bake our Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
First we bake this recipe for 25 minutes. Then I turn the oven off and open the door of the oven. I let the cheesecake sit in the open oven for another 20-30 minutes.
Then I move the Cranberry Cheesecake Bars to the counter to cool completely.
Last part……It will be hard to let this chill for 2 hours before serving, but chilling it to set makes for firm bars. Once fully chilled you will lift out the parchment paper with the entire dessert intact.
At this point you can then slice your dessert into 15 bars for an absolutely delightful treat!
Pin this idea for later!
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Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup almond flour
- 3 tbsp Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener
- 3 tbsp coconut flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup butter melted
Cheesecake Filling
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- ⅓ cup Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener powdered
- 2 egg large
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Cranberry Filling
- Combine the cranberries, Allulose sweetener, orange zest and water in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes or until the cranberries are soft and thickened.
- Add in orange extract. Mash cranberries and set aside to cool.
- You will use only ½ cup of this cranberry recipe. The rest of the cranberry sauce to be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months and for another use.
Crust
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 6×9” pan with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, sweetener and salt. Add the melted butter and hand blend with a fork until the mixture is crumbly.
- Press the crust mixture to the parchment paper lined pan. Press the crust firmly and evenly into the pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
Cheesecake filling
- Using the ½-1 cup of your sugar free cranberry sauce drop small spoonfuls over the cheesecake filling, leaving a small border around the edges.
- Bake 25 minutes, or until the cheesecake filling is set, but ever so slightly jiggly. Do not remove the cheesecake bars just yet. Turn off the oven and leave the oven door ajar.
- Let cheesecake bars sit in the open cooling oven for another 30 minutes. Then remove the pan and let cool to room temperature about another 30-60 minutes.
- THEN….Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Remove Pan from fridge and lift the parchment paper bars out of the pan. Slice into 15 bars and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
MEDICAL AND NUTRITION DISCLAIMER…Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nutritional break downs are done using a commercial nutrition calculator. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctorbefore starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers, this should never be construed as medical advice.
MEDICAL AND NUTRITION DISCLAIMER…Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nutritional break downs are done using a commercial nutrition calculator. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctorbefore starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers, this should never be construed as medical advice.
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I’m a Beautycounter devotee and I truly love this company and their products, hence my Beautycounter Side Gig. I love their mission, their products and their affordable pricing for high-quality, safer products.
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I just made this recipe and wow does my entire house smell like LOVE! I didn’t have any xylitol so I substituted that with stevia powder; I didn’t know the portions so I just used a table spoon in both fillings and crust. I tasted as I went and everything tasted good. I will say that I didn’t have much leftover crust mixture after I placed it in my pie pan. I saved a bit for the crumble but certainly not 1/2 cup worth.
The pie is in the oven so I will give another update tomorrow after my family digs in at Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks for the amazing recipe!!!
I love how you improvised! Let me know how it turned out. xoxo
I have learned to love my food without sweeteners !! Yum-O
Me too!
The recipe looks great but please always post when using xylitol be very careful it is fatal for dogs to consume! Someone may not own a dog but they may bring a dessert like this to a party where there is a pup. People can be busy talking and dogs are extremely quick around food. Be safe ????
You are ABSOLUTELY right! I’ll add that as a standard to all my recipes using xylitol. Thank you!!!