Easy and Delicious Cranberry Bars

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These Cranberry Bars are the perfect combination of sweet, tart and buttery goodness. They feature a tender sugar cookie dough that’s been flavored with orange zest and vanilla along with fresh cranberries throughout. Enjoy them warm or cooled with a dusting of powdered sugar or a drizzle of icing!

Introduction to the recipe: 

I’ll be honest. I don’t bake with fresh cranberries that often. I often use dried cranberries – see these white chocolate almond cookies and this cranberry orange bread.

However, dried cranberries just don’t provide the same kind of beauty as fresh cranberries, especially in these Easy and Delicious Cranberry Bars. These are ideal for holiday gatherings, afternoon snacks, or for a simple dessert as they require minimal prep time and use everyday ingredients.

Ingredients:

• Granulated sugar: Since the core of this recipe is a sugar cookie, granulated sugar is used to sweeten these bars up!
• Eggs: 2 eggs help bind the sugar cookie dough together.
• Pure vanilla extract: Some vanilla is used to enhance flavor.
• Orange zest: Orange goes so well with cranberries so I added a little zest to give these a slight citrus note.
• Butter: Gotta have butter! These are so buttery and delicious!
• All purpose flour: AP flour works really well in this recipe.
• Baking powder: Baking powder is the leveling agent used to help these rise.
• Salt: A little salt helps enhance all the other flavors.
• Fresh or frozen cranberries: I used frozen cranberries but fresh will do! I love the color and how they burst open when baked.
• Sliced almonds: These are optional but they would be a wonderful addition to this cranberry bar. They would add a nice crunch and almond goes very well with citrus and cranberry.
• Powdered sugar: A dusting of powdered sugar make these extra pretty and festive!

Step by step Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven and grease a 9×13 baking pan.
2. In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar, and orange zest until light and fluffy.
3. Add the vanilla and eggs one at a time beating well, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
4. Next, add the flour, salt and baking powder and slowly mix it in. Do not over mix!
5. Lastly, fold in the cranberries and sliced almonds with a spatula.
6. Press dough into the prepared pan (the dough is sticky so you can butter your hands to make it easier to press into the pan) and bake for 40-50 minutes. Mine baked for 45 minutes.
7. Remove pan and let the bars cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar or icing.

Tips for a perfect batch:

Now when it comes to baking anything, I have several simple tips that will help prepare you and be successful.

• Always always always read through the recipe first. This prepares you of what to expect and prevents mistakes.
• Gather and measure all of your ingredients ahead of time – this also prevents mistakes and reduces messes.
• Make sure the ingredients are at room temperature – room temperature ingredients mix better and quicker preventing over-mixing.
• Do not over-mix the dough as over-mixing can cause the dough to be tough.
• Do not over-bake – check the bars at 40 minutes and see if they appear done. They should be slightly golden brown along the edges. All oven temperatures vary so it’s important to check often to prevent over-baking.

Variation and Substitutions:

• You can use dried cranberries instead of fresh if you would like. They will look and taste a little different. The fresh cranberries provide a little moisture for the bar where the dried will not. If you use dried, I do suggesting using an icing (see recipe card).
• These can be made gluten free – I do suggest using a cup for cup gluten free flour.
• You can add a touch of almond extract in these for an additional layer of flavor or use an almond flavored icing (see recipe card)
• You can add nuts for some texture – pecans, walnuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts or slivered almonds would work well!
• You can use lemon zest The texture of the bars remind me a blondie, a soft and chewy dessert bar similar to brownie, but without cocoa for melted chocolate. I love how versatile they are!if you would like.

Storing and Freezing:

You can make these ahead of time, simply store in an airtight container. They will last about 3 days at room temperature or up to 5 days in the refrigerator. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months if you would like to make them well in advance. Simply thaw overnight at room temperature. If you are adding powdered sugar or an icing to the top, wait to do so until after they have thawed.

Conclusions and why I love this recipe!

So there you have, Easy and Delicious Cranberry Bars! The holidays are super busy and it’s nice to have recipes that are simple and straight-forward. These cranberries bars offer a beautiful dessert while also not taking too much of your time or too many ingredients.

They’re not a cookie and they’re not a cake, but they’re something in between and they’re just glorious! The texture of the bars remind me a blondie, a soft and chewy dessert bar similar to brownie, but without cocoa or melted chocolate. Dessert bars or blondies are extremely versatile which is why I love making them – the options are endless!

I absolutely LOVE the color of these – they scream CHRISTMAS.

Cranberry Bars can be enjoyed throughout the day – definitely a wonderful breakfast treat with coffee or a great afternoon indulgence.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

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Yield: 25-30

Easy and Delicious Cranberry Bars

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These Cranberry Bars are the perfect combination of sweet, tart and buttery goodness. They feature a tender sugar cookie dough that's been flavored with orange zest and vanilla along with fresh cranberries throughout. Enjoy them warm or cooled with a dusting of powdered sugar or a drizzle of icing! 

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature (unsalted. If using salted omit the salt below)
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Zest from one medium orange
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 2 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen. I used frozen)
• Powdered sugar (for dusting. optional)
• 1 cup white chocolate chips (optional)

Icing (Optional)

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• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional for flavor)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoon melted butter
• 1-2 tablespoons warm water (amount will depend on consistency of icing)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13 inch pan. You can also line the pan with parchment paper. This will make it easier to pull the bars out of the pan and cut.
2. Using a mixer, beat together the granulated sugar, butter and orange zest (if using), until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and vanilla and beat until mixed nicely, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
3. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the almonds (if using) and cranberries with a spatula.
4. Pour into prepared pan – the dough is sticky so grease your hands and press it down as best as you can so it covers the entire pan. If it’s not perfect, don’t worry, it will bake together nicely.
5. Bake for 40-50 minutes. Mine baked for 45 minutes. The edges will be light brown and the top will have spots of light brown. Cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar, icing and cutting.
6. To make the icing, whisk all the ingredients together until smooth. Drizzle on cooled cranberry bars and let set.

Notes

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days or for 5 days in the refrigerator. You can freeze them for up the 3 months.

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Recipe from Food.com