Hi everybody! So with the holidays coming up so quickly and all of my holiday favourites returning to local coffee stores, I decided to have a little fun 
and make some tasty holiday goodies. I’ve stocked myself up with holiday coffee blends, enough peppermint extract to run a breath mint factory, almond flour to make cakes and cookies galore and I even bought sugar free holiday coffee syrups. You could say I’m winning the holiday lottery on this one. Now, I’m not going to lie, seeing holiday goodies I can’t have is slowly killing me. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve dealt with many holidays where I haven’t had goodies but as the peppermint mochas and cranberry filled treats line the shelves, I’ve felt a little less into the spirit. Not one to be put down by what I can’t have or do, I decided to do something about it and made these wonderful bars. They are pretty dense due to the almond flour but my gosh, the flavour! I love my lemon flavours mixing with the cranberries and the orange zest adds a real kick to that cream cheese icing. I know you’ll love it and will make it for your friends and family once you taste it!
Ingredients:
1 cup and 1 tbsp of butter
¼ cup granular Swerve (or other erythritol brand)
1tsp and ½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup dried cranberries
4 ounces cream cheese
½ cup heavy whipping cream
20 and 10 drops Sweetleaf (or other liquid stevia)
2 cups almond flour
1.5 tsp ground ginger
4 eggs
2 tbsp powdered erythritol (I use Swerve)
1 tsp grated orange
1 tsp grated lemon
½ tsp lemon extract
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease your baking dish (I use 9 x 9 as I like them thin) and add parchment paper atop the greased dish. Add your oil or butter atop the parchment as well so baked ingredients can easily slide out.
- Melt 1 cup of butter in a microwave safe bowl. Add in granular erythritol, 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 20 drops of liquid stevia. Mix thoroughly.
- In a separate bowl, mix 2 cups of almond flour and ground ginger. Slowly add this dry mix to your liquid ingredient mix from earlier, whisking to incorporate the ingredients.
- Add in all 4 eggs, whisking them until you have a nice thick batter without lumps. Lastly, add in dried cranberries into the mixture.
- Once batter is complete, move it to the greased parchment paper and place in oven for 35-40 minutes. Batter will look buttery half way through but will brown and harden without as much greasiness the last 10 minutes.
- As cake is baking, create the icing. Add softened butter, cream cheese and whipping cream to a large bowl. Use an electric mixer or a whisk and whip thoroughly to make the base of your cream cheese icing.
- Add ½ tsp lemon extract, ½ tsp vanilla extract, 2 tbsp icing sugar and 1 tsp grated orange and lemon to the cream cheese icing. Whisk these ingredients into the cream cheese icing. If you want a heavier flavour, add more zest or lemon extract. It’ll give it more of a citrus flavour.
- Once cake is completely cooled, add icing to the cake. Place in fridge for approximately 2 hours before serving.
- Cut into 1 x 1 pieces and eat! 🙂
