I stock up every year on bags of fresh cranberries to use in holiday recipes. They’re just so fun and versatile to cook and bake with! When the season is over, put the bags in the freezer until next year – there’s inevitably a cranberry shortage and you’ll come out ahead.
These Cranberry Crumble Bars are a big hit and are just the right balance of sweet and tart.
You’ll need:
For the bars:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup whole milk or oat/soy milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the cranberry filling:
- 4 cups (1 bag) fresh or frozen cranberries (do not thaw if frozen)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom and sides of a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang over the sides to lift the finished bars out. Grease the parchment paper with butter.
2. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together.
3. Add the cubed butter and process in a food processor until flour is coated and resembles pea-sized crumbles (10 seconds in a food processor or 5-10 minutes with a pastry cutter).
4. In a small bowl, whisk together egg, milk and vanilla. Pour over the flour mixture and gently mix together until the mixture resembles moist crumbly sand.
5. Set aside 2 cups of mixture. Pour the remaining mixture into prepared pan and press down with your hands to form an even crust. Set aside.
6. In a large bowl, mix all cranberry filling ingredients together. Spread over the crust.
7. Sprinkle the remaining 2 cpus of crumble mixture over the top of the cranberries.
8. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
9. Remove from oven and allow bars to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. When cooled, cut into bars, serve and enjoy!
Source: Adapted from a recipe by Sally’s Baking Addiction