Cranberry Crumb Bars

Get into the vacation spirit with these scrumptious cranberry crumb bars. It’s my favourite manner to make use of up leftover cranberry sauce. Comply with our step-by-step directions and video to create a festive and attractive dessert that’s good for any vacation gathering.

I acquired fed up final yr with leftover cranberry sauce so for months after Thanksgiving I used to be testing it in all types of recipes to seek out methods to make use of it. That is how our cranberry sauce muffins got here to be! And it’s the identical story for this cranberry crumble bars recipe. I’ve been experimenting with this one and that is lastly the profitable recipe. They’re to die for!

They’re probably the most great mixture of creamy cranberry sauce and a chewy sugar cookie, tart shortbread crust!

Elements for Cranberry Sauce Bars

We are going to truly make one crust recipe and we’ll use it for each the bottom of the bars and the crumble on high! Then we’ll make a filling to go within the center. I’ll embrace the components for an non-obligatory glaze too. Right here is all the things you’ll need for every part:

Crust and Topping

• Moist Elements: Butter (softened), Cream Cheese (softened), Brown Sugar, White Sugar, Egg, Vanilla and Almond Extract
• Dry Elements: All Function Flour, Cornstarch, Baking Powder, Baking Soda and Salt

Filling

• Bitter Cream: full fats cream cheese
• Eggs: binds the filling collectively
• Cornstarch: helps thicken the filling
• Vanilla and Floor Cinnamon: add taste
• Cranberry Sauce: do-it-yourself is most popular, however store-bought would work nice too, simply don’t use the canned cranberry jelly
• Complete Recent Cranberries: provides extra taste and texture

Glaze

• Powdered Sugar: acts as the bottom of the glaze and provides all of the sweetness
• Milk: provides richness and creates the glaze
• Vanilla: provides taste

The measurements for every ingredient could be discovered down under within the recipe card. That is meant to simply be an summary of the components you’ll need.

Tips on how to Make Cranberry Crumb Bars

Let me stroll you thru every step of this recipe! It’d seem to be numerous steps, nevertheless it’s tremendous straightforward.

Crust

1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 levels and line a 9×13 inch baking dish with a chunk of parchment. Spray all the things with cooking spray.
2. Beat: Place the butter, cream cheese and each sugar within the bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat till fluffy.
3. Add: Place the remainder of the moist components into the bowl and blend till mixed.
4. Mix: Change the pace to low, and add all of the dry ingredient. Combine till mixed. Set 2 cups of the crust apart to make use of later because the crumb topping.
5. Press: Take the remaining crumb combination and press it evenly into the baking pan.
6. Bake: Stick the pan into the preheated oven and bake it for 10 minutes and take away it to chill barely.

Filling

1. Whisk: In a big bowl, whisk collectively the bitter cream, eggs, cornstarch, vanilla, almond extract, cinnamon, till easy and nicely mixed.
2. Fold: Seize a rubber spatula and fold within the cranberry sauce.
3. Pour: Unfold the cranberry filling combination over the crust and sprinkle the cranberries excessive.
4. Dollop: Use the remaining crust combination and place chunks of it all around the high of the berries.
5. Bake: Place the pan again into the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes.
6. Cool: Take away the bars from the oven and allow them to cool for at the least an hour on a wire cooling rack. Drizzle the glaze over if you’re utilizing it.
7. Slice: Utilizing the parchment paper, take away the bars from the pan after which slice into squares and serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Glaze

1. Whisk: Add all the things to a small bowl and whisk collectively. Drizzle excessive of the cooled bars.

All of those directions may also be discovered within the recipe card on the finish of the publish. It can save you or print the recipe from there as nicely.

Elective Glaze

The glaze on high is completely non-obligatory, however I like the little little bit of moisture that it provides and it seems to be so fairly! Do it’s a must to have it? No, however I’d make the little further effort to make it each single time.

Recipe Variations

I haven’t tried any of those variations, however they’re all on my listing of issues to strive with these bars. I truly lose sleep at night time enthusiastic about all of the completely different twists and turns I can take with my recipes. It’s not wholesome…haha! Anyway…

Including some toasted pecans or walnuts to the bottom could be fabulous. After all, orange all the time goes will with cranberry, so including some orange zest to the filling is extremely really helpful! Ooh and a few orange juice to the glaze! Now we’re talkin’! My different thought is so as to add toasted sliced almonds to the topping. Yummy!

Storage Ideas

These cranberry bars will retailer at room temperature in an hermetic container for 2-3 days. If you would like them to final a bit longer, you possibly can retailer them within the fridge for as much as per week.

Cranberry sauce bars additionally freeze very well. Wrap the person slices with plastic wrap after which retailer them in an hermetic container. They may maintain for as much as 3 months.

These cranberry crumb bars are the right mixture of candy and tart, with a buttery crumb topping that may have you ever coming again for seconds. Whether or not it’s Thanksgiving or Christmas, you may need some leftover cranberry sauce to make use of up and these cranberry crumb bars are your reply!

Extra Festive Dessert Recipes to Strive:

Watch How These Cranberry Sauce Crumb Bars are Made…