Orange Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars Recipes

GINGERBREAD CHEESECAKE BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Sift together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt for the cookie base in a bowl.
• Cream margarine and white sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat until well combined. Stir in molasses and water. Gradually stir flour mixture into the molasses mixture. Transfer dough to a 9x13-inch pan, patting it down so it covers the entire bottom of the pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
• Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and brown sugar for the filling in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add molasses, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves and stir, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until mixture is smooth. Fold in 3 cups whipped topping until well combined. Spread filling into the cooled cookie base. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Garnish with remaining whipped topping before serving.

GINGERBREAD CHEESECAKE BARS

Steps:

• Make the gingerbread cheesecake bars: Prepare an 8-inch square baking pan with a parchment paper sling, and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. In a medium bowl, stir together the gingersnap crumbs and melted butter with a fork until the crumbs are moistened. Using a flat-bottomed glass or dish, press the crumbs evenly and flat into the prepared pan. Bake for 8 minutes and set it aside.
• In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese and brown sugar until there are no lumps. Mix in the molasses, vanilla extract, ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Add the two eggs and beat until just combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl to ensure everything is evenly mixed. Pour the cheesecake mixture onto the prepared crust and smooth it out with a spatula. Put the bars into the oven with an oven-safe casserole dish full of water on the oven shelf below (similar to a water bath, this helps achieve a more even bake). Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until the cheesecake is firm ("no liquid jiggle in the middle," I like to say). Remove them and chill them in the fridge for at least two hours.
• Make the orange whipped cream: Combine the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and orange extract in the bowl of a stand mixer, and beat to stiff peaks, tasting just as the cream starts to take shape to determine if the sweetness is to your preference or if you'd like to add more powdered sugar. When the cream reaches stiff peaks, use a pastry bag with a big star tip to pipe 16 whipped-cream rosettes on the chilled bars. Top with orange zest and sprinkled cinnamon. Serve chilled.