ORANGE-GINGERBREAD CHEESECAKE BARS

Orange-Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars image

A spicy, molasses-y cookie crust and topping with a creamy cheesecake filling makes for a lovely treat! I enjoy the orange-gingerbread flavor combination--but if you're not a fan, just leave out the orange zest.

Provided by Kim

Categories Desserts Cookies Gingerbread Cookie Recipes

Time 1h15m

Yield 20

Number Of Ingredients 19

Ingredients

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup molasses
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
½ cup white sugar
1 pinch salt
2 eggs
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with enough parchment paper to have overhang on all sides. Lightly grease parchment.
Whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and salt for the gingerbread in a large bowl until combined.
Cream brown sugar and butter in a separate bowl with an electric mixed until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until thoroughly combined. Mix in molasses.
Add flour mixture to butter mixture in 3 separate additions, mixing only until just combined; dough will be fairly thick. Press 2/3 of the dough firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan, using floured hands to prevent sticking.
Beat cream cheese, sugar, and salt for the filling in a large bowl until completely smooth and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract and orange zest. Pour filling evenly over gingerbread crust and smooth with a spatula. Sprinkle remaining gingerbread dough over the filling and gently press down.
Bake in the preheated oven until edges are set and the center of the cheesecake only slightly jiggles, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Once cooled, remove from pan using parchment "handles" and slice into bars.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 258.4 calories, Carbohydrate 31 g, Cholesterol 64.7 mg, Fat 13.3 g, Fiber 0.5 g, Protein 4.2 g, SaturatedFat 8.1 g, Sodium 183.1 mg, Sugar 17.8 g