Cranberry Crumb Bars

These delicious Cranberry Crumb Bars feature a sweet buttery dough and a tart cranberry filling. This recipe comes together quickly with the crust and topping made from the same mixture.

And my obsession with crumb toppings continues. These sweet, tart and buttery Cranberry Bars are the way to my crumb-loving heart!

I now have a crumb bar for every season: Berry Crumb Bars for spring, Peach Crumb Bars for summer, Apple Crumb Bars for fall, and these festive Cranberry Crumb Bars for winter. Flavored with a touch of orange and vanilla and filled with plenty of tart cranberries, these buttery bars are absolute perfection!

How to Make Cranberry Bars:

This recipe uses the same mixture for the crust and the topping, with a sweet-tart cranberry mixture in between. Here’s how to make them:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Add cubed butter, orange zest, egg, and vanilla extract. Beat until the butter is broken down into small pieces and the dough is crumbly.
• Dump a little more than half of the dough into a 9×13 pan (reserving the rest for the topping). Press the dough into an even layer.
• Combine fresh cranberries with sugar, cornstarch, orange juice, and vanilla.
• Dump the cranberries onto the crust, then crumble the reserved dough over the top.
• Bake until the cranberries are bubbling and the top is light golden brown.
• After cooling, drizzle the bars with vanilla icing.

Serving and storage:

Serving: These bars can be served chilled, at room temperature or warm. The colder the bars are the more stable they are for holding/serving. If you choose to serve them warm, you will want to serve them on a plate with a fork (they won’t be firm enough to hold). Top the bars with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Storing: These bars are best within 24 hours of being made. After 1 day, the moisture from the fruit starts to soften the crust and topping. Store in the refrigerator.

MORE CRANBERRY RECIPES:

• Almond Cranberry Cake
• Apple Cranberry Crisp
• Cranberry Bliss Bars
• Cranberry Salad
• Apple Cranberry Bread

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Cranberry Crumb Bars

These delicious Cranberry Crumb Bars feature a buttery dough and a tart cranberry filling.

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Dessert

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings: 20

Calories: 263kcal

Author: Allison - Celebrating Sweets

Ingredients

Crust and topping:

• ▢ 1 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 3 cups all purpose flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder (aluminum free*)
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢ finely grated zest of 1 medium-sized orange
• ▢ 1 cup cold unsalted butter cut into cubes
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Cranberry filling:

• ▢ 5 cups fresh cranberries
• ▢ 1 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• ▢ juice of 1 medium-sized orange
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Vanilla icing:

• ▢ 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• ▢ 3 teaspoons half and half or milk
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Instructions

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13 pan with foil and lightly grease the foil.

Crust and topping:

• Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine granulated sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Add orange zest, butter, egg, and vanilla. Beat on low speed until the butter is evenly distributed in small pieces and the mixture is crumbly.
• Dump a little more than half of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan (reserving the remaining amount, about 2 1/2 cups, for the topping). Use your hand or the bottom of a measuring cup to evenly press the dough into the pan.

Cranberry filling:

• Gently stir together all ingredients until well incorporated.
• Scoop the cranberries onto the crust, making sure the cranberries and juices are evenly distributed over the crust. Crumble the reserved dough over the top of the berries.
• Bake for approximately 45-50 minutes, until the top is light golden brown and the cranberries are bubbling in some spots. Transfer pan to a rack to cool completely.

Vanilla icing:

• Whisk all ingredients until smooth. Adjust the consistency by adding more powdered sugar to thicken or more milk to thin. Drizzle over the cooled bars.

Notes

*Baking powder with aluminum can react with cranberries; I prefer to use aluminum free baking powder for this recipe. 

Serving: These bars can be served chilled, at room temperature, or warm. The colder the bars are the more stable they are for holding/serving. If you choose to serve them warm, you will want to serve them on a plate with a fork (they won't be firm enough to hold). Top the bars with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired. 

Storing: These bars are best within 24 hours of being made. After 1 day, the moisture from the fruit starts to soften the crust and topping. Store in the refrigerator. 

Nutrition

Calories: 263kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 35mg | Potassium: 67mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 311IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg

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