Healthier Jaffa (Choc Orange) Cheesecake Bites (Meal Prep, Vegetarian)

I hope you are all are staying safe and well at home during these tough times. I am still trying to keep my “normal” where possible and create new ones where necessary to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle – I still meal prep on the weekends, do some workouts at home (there are tonnes of online apps and programs available for free), “get” to work, do some chores around the house (instead of getting my cleaner to come) and winding down with some yoga on most nights. And hopefully, things will get back to normal soon if we all adhere to the lockdown measures that most governments have put in place (realistically, this will “new” lifestyle will probably go on for a few months until things settle down a little).

So, for snack this week, I decided to make some healthier Jaffa cheesecake bites. I have been wanting to make them for a while now and finally, got around to making them last night. So, I am excited to share the recipe with you as I am extremely happy with the flavour combination. These cheesecake bites are similar to my banoffee pie cheesecake bites that I made last year. I was inspired to make this flavour combination due to my love for intense orange flavour with dark chocolate 🍫 These cheesecake bites are healthier than your typical cheesecake as they are made with rolled oats, cacao powder, peanut butter and orange juice for the base and cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, egg, orange juice and coconut syrup for the filling 😊 So, if you are craving something sweet for morning or afternoon tea or simply after a healthier snack, why not try these delicious Jaffa cheesecake bites? 😋

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I have. As always, please let me know what you think of this recipe. If you like what you see on this blog, you can follow me on my blog, Facebook or Instagram for some food porn. Also, if you do recreate this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @subz_foodie 🙂

Makes 12 cheesecake bites

Ingredients

For the base

50g rolled oats;
30g desiccated coconut or almond meal (or vegan chocolate protein powder (whey protein powder will give you a rubbery texture) if you want a higher protein content);
2 tbsp/30g peanut butter (or any other nut butter or seed butter or coconut oil or vegetable oil);
1 tbsp honey or maple syrup (you can add more sweetener if you prefer it sweeter)
1 tbsp cacao powder (or cocoa powder);
Zest of half orange;
Freshly squeezed orange juice (2-3 tbsp used to bind all the above ingredients to make a cookie dough).

For the filling

60g cottage cheese;
160g light Greek yogurt (full fat one works fine too); and
1 egg;
Zest of half orange;
2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice; and
Optional: More sweetener if you prefer your bites sweeter – I used 1 tbsp coconut syrup.

For the chocolate drizzle

30g chocolate, melted; and
1/2 tsp coconut oil or walnut oil, melted.

Method

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius and grease a muffin tray or a small loaf pan;
In a medium sized bowl, mix all the base ingredients except for the orange juice until well combined;
Add orange juice 1 tbsp at a time to bind the base together until it forms a cookie dough. I needed 2.5 tbsp orange juice;
Once a cookie dough is formed, press base mixture into the muffin holes (about 1.5-2 tbsp of mixture per muffin hole) or loaf pan until an even base is formed;
In the same bowl, mix all the filling ingredients together until well combined. Pour the filling mixture into the muffin holes (1.5-2 tbsp per muffin hole) or loaf pan;
Place the muffin tray or loaf pan in the oven and bake for 25-35 minutes. The top of cheesecake will be golden brown when it is ready and the centre of the cake will not be wobbly;
Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool. Once cooled, place in the fridge for at least 6 hours. For the best cheesecake bites, allow the bites to refrigerate overnight;
Once refrigerated overnight, prepare the chocolate drizzle. In a small bowl, mix the melted chocolate and oil until well combined;
Drizzle the chocolate drizzle on your cheesecake bites and enjoy 😋
Stores in the fridge for up to 2 weeks 😊