Orange Honey Cheesecake Bars
Quiz time! Can you believe school’s out for summer and I’m giving you a quiz??? Pick the best answer from below…
The best way to use honey is:
A) Drizzled over hot buttered toast {& served with a mug of steaming hot coffee!}.
B) Swirled in to a bowl of plain Greek Yogurt.
C) Stirred in to a cup of chamomile tea for a bedtime toddy.
D) Served straight up, by the spoonful, to tame a hacking cough.
And, the correct answer is, E, all of the above, plus baked, stirred, and drizzled over a pan of luscious orange honey cheesecake bars!
And, the reason, for these yummy bars???
Why to celebrate all things honey of course!
By posting this recipe for Orange Honey Cheesecake Bars, I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by the National Honey Board, and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I received a gift card to offset the expenses of my ingredients.
As you can probably tell from the quiz, honey makes a regular appearance in my kitchen, both as a natural sweetener, as well as a medicinal, and tasty alternative to cough syrup. Did you know that honey has been found to be just as effective as dextromethorphan, a common cough suppressant? Tastes WAY better too!
As we speak, I currently have 4 different varieties of honey in my kitchen, including Raspberry, Sage, Buckwheat, and Orange Blossom…
For my Orange Honey Cheesecake Bars, naturally I thought the Orange Blossom Honey would be the perfect accompaniment, not only baked in to the almond flour crust, but also stirred in to the Cream Cheese and Greek Yogurt mixture, and drizzled on top of the fresh, sweet, and juicy in-season Valencia Oranges.
I can only imagine the bees have been very busy in my own garden collecting nectar from my Valencia Orange tree blossoms, which have now turned in to 100’s of mini oranges!
Naturally, in an ode to Recipe ReDux fashion, these Orange Honey Cheesecake Bars have a healthy twist, with an almond flour crust, a subtle honey sweetness {it is always my preference to use less of the “real thing”, aka, natural sweeteners, than to use artificial sweeteners}, and fresh fruit. Oh, and like all my recipes, they are gluten-free too!
Orange Honey Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 2 cups almond flour
- 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil, plus extra for greasing pan
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 egg white
For the filling:
- 6 ounces cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese
- 1/2 cup plain Greek Yogurt
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the topping:
- 3 oranges, peeled and sliced in to rounds
- Additional honey to drizzle on top of oranges
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine almond flour, coconut oil, honey, and egg white in a mixing bowl. Mix well, then press mixture in to a 9 x 9 baking dish that has been greased with a little coconut oil.
- Bake the crust for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. When finished baking, cool slightly, then transfer to refrigerator for 20 minutes to cool completely.
- While crust is baking, make the filling. Combine the cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese with the Greek yogurt, honey, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl, and beat with a hand mixer until well combined.
- To prepare the tart: Spread filling over the crust, top with orange slices, and drizzle honey on top. Cut in to 12 squares. Best served chilled.
Nutrition
Let’s Chat!
Are you a honey lover like me? What’s your favorite way to use/bake with honey? How many varieties do you have in your own kitchen???
