TheKitchn.com

Labneh is cheese made from strained thick yogurt. It's commonly eaten for breakfast in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries with olive oil and bread. At stores, you'll find it in the refrigerated section, sometimes labeled as "yogurt cheese." But if you don't see it there, it's shockingly simple to make your own (see Recipe Notes below). Yogurt is already a fermented food, but straining out the liquid increases the live bacteria and makes labneh an even more probiotic-dense food.

The texture of labneh is comparable to thick yet spreadable cream cheese, and the flavor is slightly saltier and a tad more sour-tasting. But the similarities are enough that labneh makes a natural substitution wherever you'd typically use cream cheese: on bread and bagels, in dips, spread over crackers with chutney or jam, and stirred into hot pasta.

Last but certainly not least is the use of labneh in these updated cheesecake bars that are sophisticated, but still approachable. They require three distinct steps: Make the crust, make the filling, and make the sauce. But don't worry about any of these steps being fussy -- the no-bake filling simplifies the process and also helps ensure the probiotic benefits of the labneh are not destroyed with heat. Just be ready to wait for everything to cool and chill, which will require a special sort of restraint that is definitely worth it in the end.

If these bars are the next generation of no-bake cheesecake, then it's fitting that the sauce receives an update as well. Salted caramel sauce is a natural fit to complement the creamy filling and pecan crust. But the addition of honey to the sauce adds a depth and complexity that will draw the ooohs and aaahs you've been waiting for.

Labneh Cheesecake Bars with Salted Honey Sauce

Serves 9 to 12

For the pecan crust:

3 cups pecan pieces

1/4 cup granulated sugar

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