Cranberry Bars

I was looking for a treat that I could make for the Christmas holiday. This recipe caught my eye...they were exactly what I was looking for. These cranberry bars are sweet, a bit tart, and totally buttery.  Absolutely delicious!

I did not use orange zest in my bars. However, I did add the almonds and the almond extract. I doubled this recipe and baked them in a 1/2 sheet pan, which made 32 bars.  Instead of dusting my bars with the powdered sugar, I made the icing recipe below and drizzled over my bars.  A single recipe of the icing was plenty, as it makes quite a bit. I also sprinkled additional sliced almonds on top of the icing.

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

zest from one medium orange (optional)

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup sliced almonds

2 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)

Powdered sugar (for dusting on top of the bars, or you can drizzle the bars with icing)

Icing (Optional):

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp almond extract (optional for flavor)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 TBS melted butter

1-2 TBS warm water (amount will depend on consistency of icing)

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.  Grease a 9x13 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.

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, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.

Slowly, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Fold in the almonds (if using) and cranberries with a spatula.

With your fingers, take small pieces of dough and scatter them evenly over the greased pan.  The dough is sticky so grease your hands (cooking spray works well) and gently 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. However, make sure the cranberries are fairly evenly distributed among the pan and you don't have an abundance in one area and no cranberries in another area.

Bake for 40-50 minutes.  The edges will be light brown and the tops will have spots of light brown.  Cool completely.  I recommend that you cut the bars before putting the icing on them.

To make the icing, whisk all the ingredients together until smooth.  Drizzle icing onto cooled cranberry bars.  I immediately sprinkled additional sliced almonds on top of the icing then a little bit more icing to keep the almonds from falling off....sort of as a glue to hold them on.  

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

Makes about 16 bars

Source:  stuckonsweet.com

Kimberly