Orange-Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars

Orange-Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Bake Time: 10 minutes
  • Chill Time: 4 hours
  • Total Time: 4 hours, 25 minutes

Ingredients:

For the crust

  • 4 cups pretzels
  • ½ cup butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoon maple syrup

For the Bars

  • 1 (9-ounce) package Bake Believe® White Melting Wafers, melted  
  • 2 (8 ounce) bricks cream cheese, softened
  • 3 tablespoons orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
  • ½ cup dried cranberries, chopped

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9 x 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper. 
  2. Place pretzels in a food processer and pulse until they resemble a coarse meal. Transfer to a bowl. Add melted butter and maple syrup. Stir until combined. Pour mixture into prepared baking pan and firmly press mixture into bottom. Bake for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool.
  3. Place cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Add orange juice and grated orange peel. Beat on medium-high speed until combined and smooth. Add melted melting wafers and continue beating two minutes more.
  4. Pour on top of cool crust and smooth the top. Sprinkle cranberries and additional grated orange peel. Transfer to refrigerator until set, about 4 hours. Remove from pan and cut into bars to serve.  Store refrigerated in an air tight container.