No Bake Cranberry Cheesecake Squares

by Leanne Vogel, Holistic Nutritionist and Wellness Expert, Healthful Pursuit

No Bake Cranberry Cheesecake Squares

Gluten-free, Refined sugar-free, Yeast-free, Corn-free, Grain-free

Goat cream cheese layered between a grain-free cookie base and a homemade cranberry orange sauce.

Ingredients

Cookie Base:

• 1 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons finely ground walnuts or walnut flour
• 1/3 cup soft coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons coconut nectar
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Cream Cheese Layer:

• 16 oz. Happy Days Plain Cream Cheese
• 2 tablespoons coconut nectar
• 3 tablespoons Happy Days Goat's Milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Cranberry Orange Layer:

• 2 cups frozen cranberries
• 1/4 cup coconut nectar
• Zest from half an orange
• Juice from 1 orange (yields approx. 3-4 tablespoons)
• 1 cinnamon stick

Crumble Top:

• 2 tablespoons finely ground walnuts or walnut flour

Instructions

Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper draped over each side for easy lifting. Set aside.

Combine all cookie base ingredients in a bowl and mash with a fork until well combined. You'll know the mixture is ready when it forms into a ball easily.

Reserve 1/2 cup of the mix and press the rest into the prepared pan. Make sure it's nice and compacted and flat. Place in the fridge.

Then, prepare cranberry orange layer. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, uncovered on medium heat, stirring often. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10-12 minutes until mixture has thickened. You want it to be about the same consistency of cranberry sauce, a bit thicker. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 20 minutes.

Then, combine all cream cheese layer ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk to combine until smooth. Remove the cookie base pan out of the fridge, top with cream cheese mixture and smooth out with the back of a spoon. Return back to the fridge until the cranberry mixture has cooled.

Top the cream cheese layer with cranberry sauce. To do this, drop mounds of the sauce all over the pan so that you don't have to spread the sauce too far along the top of the cream cheese. This will help you avoid mixing the two layers together. Go gently.

Once the cranberry layer is smoothed, combine the reserved 1/4 cup cookie base mix with an additional 2 tablespoons of ground walnuts. Sprinkle over the top of the pan.

Cover the pan with plastic wrap and allow to chill overnight. I left it for 24 hours.

When ready to serve, lift out of the pan with the edges of the parchment paper and cut into 9 squares.

Notes

For the coconut nectar - other liquid sweeteners could be used like honey (no longer vegan), raw agave nectar or date syrup.

Will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge. Can be cut into squares and then frozen for up to 1 month.