Cranberry Bars
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed 2 sticks
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup sliced almonds optional
Cranberry Filling
- 4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries do not thaw
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp orange zest
- 1 tbsp fresh orange juice
Orange Icing (Optional)
- 2 tbsp fresh orange juice
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C). Take a baking pan measuring 9×13 inches and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper, making sure to leave extra paper hanging on the sides. This will make it easier to remove the bars later. Set the pan aside.
To make the crust and topping, grab a big bowl and whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add cubes of butter to this mixture and use a pastry cutter, two forks, or a food processor to blend the butter until the mixture looks like small, pea-sized crumbles.
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, and vanilla. Pour this over the flour-butter mixture and gently mix until you get a moist, crumbly sand-like texture.
Set aside 2 cups of the mixture. Spread the remaining mixture into the prepared pan to form an even crust. It might be a bit crumbly, but that’s okay. Keep it aside.
Mix all the cranberry filling ingredients together. Spread this mixture over the crust in the pan. Sprinkle the reserved crumble mixture and almonds on top.
Bake the bars in the oven for around 40-50 minutes until the top turns lightly brown, and when you insert a toothpick, it comes out mostly clean with a few cranberry specks.
Take the pan out of the oven and let the bars cool completely on a wire rack.
While the bars cool, make the icing by whisking together the icing ingredients.
Once the bars are cooled, drizzle the icing over them and then cut them into squares.
