Cranberry-Orange Ladyfingers

By Peggy on June 26, 2024

You are going to LOVE these! They just get better and better each day that goes by. They're even gluten-free, if you leave out the oat fiber. 🙂 Hubby really liked these and he's not really a fruit and nut man. If you don't have a Twinkie® baking pan, just make 12 small muffins, or bake in a round cake pan for cutting in wedges. These are not suitable for Atkins Induction on several levels. They are suitable for Phase 2 and above and Keto diets as well.

INGREDIENTS:

½ c. almond flour

¼ c. flax meal (I use 50:50 gold and dark)

¼ c. plain whey protein powder

1 tsp. baking powder

1 T. oat fiber (omit for gluten free version)

1 c. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

3 T. softened cream cheese

2 beaten large eggs

1 tsp. cider vinegar

1 T. heavy cream

2 T. fresh squeezed orange juice

1 T. warm tap water

1 tsp. yeast + 1 tsp. sugar dissolved in the warm water above (or 1 tsp. baking powder)

½ c. cranberries (homemade, dried, sugar-free)

½ c. slivered almonds

1 oz. orange peel

VARIATION: Add a few chopped pecans.

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Lightly oil a non-stick pan of your choice (discussed above) and set aside.

Measure out the first 6 (dry) ingredients into a medium mixing bowl. In a separate small glass bowl, soften the cream cheese either at room temp or in your microwave on defrost. Dissolve the yeast in the tablespoon of warm water in a saucer and add to the cream cheese. Stir. Beat in the eggs well. Add the cider vinegar and cream. Add the creamy mixture to the dry ingredients bowl and stir.

Trim off 1 oz. of orange peel from an orange. You want to get as little white, bitter membrane as possible. Cut into approximately 1" pieces. Place in food processor or blender. Add cranberries and nuts to the bowl and pulse it all together about 10 times or so, to a coarse chop. Add the fruit/nut mixture to the batter. Stir. Finally squeeze/measure out the orange juice. Stir well one last time to incorporate all to achieve a uniform distribution of the fruit/nuts.

Dip into/onto your chosen pan, distributing the batter evenly into 12 muffin cups, 12 Twinkie® slots or a greased round cake pan. Pop into 350º oven and bake for 20 minutes until lightly browned. Allow to cool a bit before lifting with the assistance of a knife tip. If making a round or loaf bread, bake around 35 minutes or until the center passes a dry toothpick test. As with all low-carb baked goods, store in a bag in the refrigerator.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 12 ladyfingers (or whatever shape you make), so 1/12 of the batch (1 portion) contains:

160 cals, 12.64g fat, 6.53g carbs, 2.71g fiber, 3.82g NET CARBS, 8.3 g protein, 266 mg sodium