Make them Thick!
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Today I present a simple cranberry bars recipe with an oat crumble top. Anything that ends with the word “crumble” is blissful, regardless if it’s cut into bars, squares or left whole like a pie. Also, anything that ends with the word “crumble” is automatically an emotional eating favorite so that’s 2 reasons to make them today. 👩🏻🍳
Cranberry Crumb Bars
Servings
16
Bars
Prep time
15
Minutes
Cooking time
45
Minutes
Type
Bars
Crumbly
Ingredients
CRUST/CRUMBLE
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2 1/2 cups flour
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1 cup sugar
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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1/2 teaspoon baking powder
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1/4 teaspoon salt
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1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
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1 large egg
CRANBERRY FILLING
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1/2 cup sugar
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2 teaspoons cornstarch
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2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
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1 tablespoon fresh orange juice (optional)
Directions
- Preheat Oven – Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9×9-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
- Make Crust/Crumble – In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the cold butter with your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the egg and vanilla until combined.
- Base – Press 2/3 of the crumb mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish to form the crust.
- Filling – In a medium bowl, toss cranberries with sugar, cornstarch, and orange juice. Spread the cranberry mixture evenly over the crust.
- Top – Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture evenly over the cranberry filling.
- Bake – Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the cranberries are bubbly.
- Cool – Cool completely before slicing into bars.
- Enjoy 👩🏻🍳
Notes
- Thick – Double the filling ingredients quantity if you like THICK, fruit filling in your bars.
- Healthy – Use sweetener instead of sugar to make this dessert much healthier. Buy the 1:1 ratio sweetener.
- Dust or Top – Dust with powdered sugar or top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to upgrade the recipe.
- Storage – Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerate for up to 5 days.
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Cranberry Crumb Bars
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*** OTHER CRANBERRY BARS RECIPES ***
- Cranberry Oat Bars
- Cranberry Bars Recipe
- Cranberry Bliss Bars
- Low Carb Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
- Cranberry Oat Squares
- Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti
- White Chocolate Cranberry Fudge
- Cranberry and Almond Biscotti
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*** IMPRESS YOUR GUESTS; MAKE IT BETTER ***
Bars are bars right? Well yes, everyone makes them and so I won’t dispute their common-ness. I will however, dispute the notion that even the most ordinary recipe can’t be made into an extraordinary one, with some creativity and guile.
Sweetened Cream Cheese
Spread a thin layer of sweetened cream cheese (8 oz cream cheese + 1/4 cup sugar + 1 teaspoon vanilla) on top of the crust before adding the cranberry filling. This adds a rich, creamy taste, to counter AND compliment the tart berries.
Shapes
Use a cookie cutter to cut the cooled bars into festive shapes like stars, hearts, or squares because shapes make them taste better 🙂
Garnish
Top each bar with sugared cranberries, a sprinkle of powdered sugar, or a sprig of fresh mint because presentation is 1/2 of the enjoyment.
Glaze
Whisk together powdered sugar, orange juice, and a a small amount of zest to create a citrus glaze. Drizzle it over the bars just before serving to give the bars a polished finish, just like you do with flooring.
Whipped Cream
Warm the bars slightly and serve with a scoop of fresh whipped cream. If they happen not to turn out well, the whipped cream will help cover it up. And if they do turn out well, it’ll just make it even better … 🍰
Cranberries are Awesome
