Cranberry Bliss Bars (Low Carb and Gluten Free)

Cranberry Bliss Bars (Low Carb and Gluten Free)

Bars:
1 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup granulated erythritol
1 tsp vanilla extract
20 drops stevia extract
2 cups almond flour
1 tsp ground ginger
4 eggs
1/2 cup fresh cranberries, chopped
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger (optional)

Icing:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp butter, softened
1/3 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp powdered erythritol
10 drops stevia extract
1 tsp grated orange zest

1/4 cup unsweetened dried cranberries (I made my own from this recipe, but you may be able to find them at a local health food store)


Preheat oven to 325F and grease an 8×8 inch baking pan. Line pan bottom and sides with parchment paper and grease parchment.

In a large bowl, mix melted butter with erythritol, vanilla and stevia extract. Add almond flour and ground ginger, stirring to incorporate. Add in eggs and stir until all ingredients are well combined. Stir in chopped cranberries, and walnuts and ginger if using.

Pour batter into prepared pan and spread the top. Bake for 40 minutes or until top is golden brown and firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool completely in pan.
For the icing, beat cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add cream and beat thoroughly, scraping down beaters and sides of bowl as needed. Beat in erythritol, stevia and orange zest until smooth.

Spread icing over cooled bars and sprinkle with dried cranberries. Chill in refrigerator until icing is firm, about 1 hour. Cut into bars or triangles.

Makes 16 large bars or 25 smaller ones. Total carbs for larger bars is 9.8g, and for smaller bars is 6.3g. If you subtract erythritol, large bars have 5.3g of carbs and smaller bars have 3.4g