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Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake Squares with a gingersnap pecan crust – so good, less guilt and perfect for the Holidays!
Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake Squares
Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake SquaresA few years ago I started experimenting with adding fat free Greek yogurt to my cheesecakes and now it’s a standard for me. It’s a great way to cut down on the fat and the flavor is wonderful. This is a variation of my strawberry cheesecake swirl recipe, and my chocolate raspberry swirl cheesecake, only for a Fall/Winter theme cranberries are in perfect and in season. The gingersnap and pecan crust is the perfect compliment – you’ll love this!
How To Make Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake
Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake Squares
Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake Squares with a gingersnap pecan crust – so good, less guilt and perfect for the Holidays!
Yield: 9 servings
Serving Size: 1 cheesecake square
Ingredients
For the Cranberry Sauce:
- 3/4 cup fresh cranberries
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh orange zest
For the Crust:
- 3 oz gingersnap crumbs, from 12 gingersnap cookie, I used Nabisco brand
- 1 oz pecans, crushed
- 1 1/2 tablespoons light butter, melted
For the Cheesecake:
- 8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 oz nonfat Greek yogurt, Chobani
- 2 egg whites
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and position a rack in the middle of the oven.
- Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with waxed paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides.
- Begin by preparing the cranberry sauce. Combine the cranberries, sugar, water, and orange zest in a small saucepan.
- Cook together until the cranberries begin to burst and the mixture turns syrupy, about 6-7 minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to cool as you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Combine the gingersnap crumbs, crushed pecans, and light butter in a small bowl. Stir together to moisten the crumbs, then pour into the prepared baking pan. Spread in an even layer, using the bottom of a drinking glass to help ensure that the crust is even.
- In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract with an electric mixer until smooth. Add in the Greek yogurt, egg whites, lemon juice, and flour, mixing until just combined.
- Pour the cheesecake mixture into the pan, over the crust, and smooth with a spatula.
- Add the cooled cranberry mixture to a food processor, and puree until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add 1/2 tablespoon water. Use a spoon to drop the cranberry sauce over the cheesecake, and then swirl the cranberry sauce with a butter knife.
- Bake the cheesecake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.
- Allow the cheesecake to cool to room temperature, and place in the fridge for several hours to get well chilled. Once chilled, cut into squares and serve.
Last Step:
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Nutrition
Serving: 1 cheesecake square, Calories: 197 kcal, Carbohydrates: 22 g, Protein: 6 g, Fat: 10 g, Saturated Fat: 0.5 g, Sodium: 101 mg, Fiber: 1 g, Sugar: 14 g
I made this with a couple of modifications to speed things up. Store bought graham cracker crust and mashing the cranberries with a spatula instead of getting out the blender. Delicious!!!
Has anyone tried making this in standard sized muffin tins? I am wondering if the parchment paper would still be necessary? And, how long to cook them?
Yes, and turned out great. I did mine in cupcake liners.
I made this recipe yesterday and it didn’t disappoint! Very easy and tasty! I would suggest letting the cheesecake chill overnight. I tried some cheesecake after it chilled for two hours and thought it wasn’t cold enough. I had more the following night and it was perfect! Just my preference though!
This is a delicious dessert (potentially 5 star) & thankfully, truly light. However, it does not set up like normal cheesecake & the result is very soft/fragile (hence my 3 star rating). Be sure to keep it well chilled before serving & use a wide spatula to lift the pieces. I was tempted to use graham crackers & am pretty sure they would substitute just fine but since I was making this for a Christmas dessert, the gingersnaps seemed more appropriate. And I was rewarded by several responses about how good the crust was by my guests.
Have you ever made them, froze them, then served? I am looking for prep this weekend prior to thanksgiving.
This recipe was a bit tangy for me. I’d like it a bit sweeter so if that’s you I’d add another tbsp of sugar at a time to adjust to your liking. Otherwise, it’s still good. My hubby liked it.
Can I make this with graham cracker crumbs instead of ginger snaps?
Can you use fat free sour cream instead of the yogurt? I have someone who hates the taste of it in anything lol.
I used some leftover fresh cranberries from Thanksgiving and made the Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake following the recipe as written and it was delicious. It was easy to make , not very time consuming. It turned out great, creamy and not overly sweet. The tang of the cranberries really makes this cake. It looked pretty and festive too. My family loved it and I will definitely make it again.
I had leftover cranberries just begging to be used, and I can’t imagine a better use for them than this recipe. I brought the squares into work and every single person complimented me on the flavors. The combination of ginger, pecan, cream cheese, yogurt, and cranberries is fantastic. I was a little worried about the crust not coming together due to the small amount of butter, but once the layers were added, it held together just fine.
These look delicious, although I’m not sure about putting wax paper in the oven (since the wax coating may smoke/melt into the squares). Assuming I can sub for parchment paper?
Thank you these look delicious! Wondering if I can make this the day before and serve for Christmas?
Yes.
Step 9 says to bake the squares for 25 minutes, but the top of the recipe says 45 minutes – please clarify.
I am pretty sure she meant the overall time of baking the cookie, making the sauce and preparing the cheesecake mixture takes about 45 minutes all together.
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