Cranberry Cheesecake Streusel Bars

• Produce

  • 1/2 tsp Orange, zest

• Refrigerated

  • 1 Egg, large

• Breakfast Foods

  • 1 cup Rolled oats, old-fashioned

• Condiments

  • 1 cup Cranberry sauce

• Baking & Spices

  • 1/2 cup Brown sugar, light packed
  • 1 cup Gluten-free flour blend
  • 1/4 cup Granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract, pure

• Nuts & Seeds

  • 2/3 cup Walnuts, unsalted

• Other

  • 1 Brick [8 oz] cream cheese, softened
  • 1 Stick [4 oz] of cold unsalted butter

Found on peasandcrayons.com

Description

Ingredients

• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup gluten-free flour blend
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 stick [4 oz] of cold unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup finely chopped unsalted walnuts
• 1 brick [8 oz] cream cheese, softened
• 1/4-1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 cup Cranberry Sauce
• note: if youre using an especially tart sauce and have a bit of a sweet tooth, feel free to sweeten your sauce with a few spoonfuls of honey, agave, or sugar.

Directions

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Butter a 9-inch square baking pan [or skip it and line the pan with parchment paper!], and set out your cream cheese to soften.
• In a medium bowl, combine flour [gluten-free or regular], oats, brown sugar, and salt.
• Next grab a cold stick of butter from the fridge and cut it into the streusel by either chopping into small pieces, grating with a box grater [my method of choice] or using a good old fashioned pastry cutter! This will create the streusel for the base and the topping of the bars.
• The trick to a good streusel is getting your hands dirty and using your fingers to rub the butter into the flour/oat mixture. I keep squeezing and finger-mashing the mixture until its nice and crumbly and no leftover bits of dry flour remain. It wont take long at all!
• Next stir in your chopped walnuts and grab a measuring cup.
• Measure out 2 cups of streusel and press it firmly into your greased baking pan to make a crust.
• In a separate bowl, beat together cream cheese and 1/4 cup granulated sugar until smooth. You can use a stand mixer or a hand-held electric mixer for this. [I used the latter]
• Once incorporated, add your egg, vanilla, and orange zest and mix to combine.
• Pour over crust and top with your cranberry sauce. Take the remaining streusel and crumble over the top.
• Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
• Allow to cool completely before cutting into 9-12 squares. These can be enjoyed immediately after cooling or, even better, after chilling in the refrigerator! I adore them chilled.