Recipe of the Week: Christmas Citrus Bars

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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Add in all 4 eggs, whisking them until you have a nice thick batter without lumps. Lastly, add in dried cranberries into the mixture.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. Once cake is completely cooled, add icing to the cake. Place in fridge for approximately 2 hours before serving.
9. Cut into 1 x 1 pieces and eat! 🙂