These cranberry bars are the best combination of sweet, spiced and tart cranberry filling and soft, buttery shortbread in every bite. Easy to make with fresh or frozen cranberries, these homemade cranberry crumble bars are the perfect cozy and festive dessert.
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Why Make This Recipe
I love making cookie bars. They are a great way to make a quick and simple dessert anytime you need a sweet treat. My Apple Pie Bars, Peach Bars, Strawberry Bars, Raspberry Oat Bars, Date Bars and No Bake Chocolate Oat Bars are all delicious and easy dessert bars. These spiced cranberry bars are another easy to make dessert bars I know you will love.
- Simple pantry ingredients. You only need a handful of basic ingredients to make a both the crust and crumble topping as well as the spiced cranberry filling for these easy cranberry crumble bars.
- You love sweet and tart treats. If being incredibly easy to make wasn’t reason enough, these cranberry cookie bars are the perfect balance of textures and flavors. Plus, they are absolutely stunning to look at.
- The perfect fall and holiday dessert. With all the delicious and cozy festive flavors of the season, these cranberry bars are easy to make and are the perfect addition to your holiday dessert table.
Ingredients and Substitutions
These soft and buttery cranberry shortbread bars require only a handful of simple ingredients to make and you probably already have them in your pantry and fridge. Here’s what you’ll need and substitutions if you are missing an ingredient.
- All Purpose Flour: To make these cranberry bars gluten free, use a good 1-1 gluten free flour. I recommend using the one from Bob’s Red Mill.
- Unsalted Butter: Vegan butter or plant based can also be used in place of regular unsalted butter in this recipe.
- Granulated and Light Brown Sugars: This recipe hasn’t been tested using alternative sugars. However, I love using maple sugar as a refined sugar free option in my other recipes.
- Vanilla Extract: This gives a lovely background flavor to these cranberry orange bars.
- Egg Yolk: This gives the shortbread cookie crust and crumb topping a bit more chewiness. If needed, omit the egg yolk to have a crunchier cranberry bar.
- Cranberries: Fresh or frozen cranberries can be used. If using frozen, feel free to keep the cranberries frozen.
- Orange Zest: Orange and cranberry are a classic flavor pairing. If you can’t find fresh orange, feel free to use lemons or even lime.
- Cinnamon: Feel free to use ginger or any other sweet ground spices you like.
- Cornstarch: This helps to thicken the juices releases from the cranberries. Feel free to use another thickening ingredient such as arrowroot.
Variations
- Cranberry Oat Bars: Mix in ½ cup old fashioned or rolled oats into the dry ingredients. Follow the rest of the recipe as written.
- 9 x 13 pan: Double the original recipe. The bars may be a bit thicker and may need a few additional minutes in the oven.
- Orange Vanilla Maple Glaze: Mix 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar with 1 - 2 tablespoons (15 - 30 ml) orange juice, 1 - 2 tablespoons (15 - 30 ml) maple syrup and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth and well combined. Drizzle over the cooled cranberry crumble bars.
How To Make
Learn how to make cranberry bars in a few easy steps.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Line an 9 x 9 pan with parchment paper along the bottom and two sides. Add the fresh or frozen cranberries, sugar, orange zest and cornstarch to a large mixing bowl. Toss the ingredients together until the cranberries are fully coated. Set aside while making the shortbread crust and crumble topping.
- Make the buttery crust and crumb topping by combining the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together in a food processor. Pulse 2 -3 times to combine the ingredients. Pulse in cubes of cold butter until the mixture resembles a crumble texture. Finally pulse in the egg yolk and vanilla extract until the mixture starts to clump together.
- Evenly press ⅔ of the shortbread mixture into the prepared pan. Transfer the cranberry filling onto the shortbread crust. Top the cranberry filling with the remaining crumble mixture. Make sure to cover as much of the filling as much as possible, but spots of exposed filling is fine.
- Bake the cranberry bars for 45 - 55 minutes or until the crust is a nice golden brown with edges of the crust pulling slightly away from the sides of the pan. The cranberry filling will thicken and bubble. Cool the cranberry crumble bars in the pan for 1 hour. If the bars are too soft to easily transfer from the pan after 1 hour at room temperature, transfer to the fridge to set for another hour. Once the bars are set, top with powdered sugar or orange vanilla maple glaze or enjoy as is.
How To Make Ahead, Store, Freeze and Thaw
- Make Ahead: Make the dough for the cranberry bars up to 2 days in advance. Store the dough wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge. Bring to room temperature before using in the recipe.
- Store: Keep these cranberry crumble bars covered in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 - 4 days.
- Freeze: Make sure the cranberry shortbread bars are completely cooled to room temperature. Cut the bars into your preferred amount of pieces. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Thaw: Transfer the bars to the fridge to thaw overnight. Warm in the microwave until your desired temperature is reached and enjoy with your preferred toppings.
M’s Expert Tips
- Use an 9 x 9 metal pan. This recipe was created using a 9 x 9 aluminum pan. Double the recipe and make in a 9 x 13 pan. Keep in mind that the bars will be thicker and will need a slightly longer bake time.
- Use parchment paper. Line the baking pan with parchment, leaving a little overhang. Once cooled, you can lift the entire batch out of the pan for easy cutting.
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature. This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly which requires less mixing, resulting in deliciously buttery crumble bars.
- Fully cool the bars. In order for these cranberry dessert bars to hold together, they need to fully cool. Ideally these bars would cool for 1 hour at room temperature and an hour in the fridge.
- Serve these cranberry bars warm with your favorite toppings. I highly recommend serving these cranberry bars warm with cold vanilla ice cream, topped with a light dusting of powdered sugar or with a drizzle of orange vanilla maple glaze.
FAQs
Are cranberry bars gluten free?
This recipe for cranberry bars can be made gluten free by using gluten free flour.
Can I use frozen cranberries to make cranberry bars?
Yes, frozen cranberries can be used to make these cranberry shortbread filling. There is no need to thaw the cranberries before using in the recipe.
Can I use dried cranberries for these bars?
For this recipe, dried cranberries won’t work to make the cranberry filling. If you prefer to use dried cranberries, mix the dried cranberries directly into the dough and make shortbread cookie bars. Top these with a drizzle of the recommended orange vanilla maple glaze.
Can I add other fruit to these cranberry bars?
Yes, but the ratio or cranberries to the other fruit (like pears, apples or peaches) will need to be adjusted. Use 1 - 2 cups sliced or diced fruit like pears or apples and 1 - 2 cups cranberries, up to 3- 4 cups total of fruit. Keep the rest of the recipe the same.
Other Cranberry Recipes to Try
If you try this Cranberry Bars recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! Happy Baking! - M
Cranberry Bars Recipe
These cranberry bars are the perfect balance of sweet and tart, with bright cranberry and spiced buttery shortbread flavor in every bite. Easy to make and perfect for fall or holiday baking, they’re a delicious sliceable treat to share with family and friends.
Equipment
- 1 9x9 (23 cm) aluminum pan
- 1 sheet parchment paper
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 food processor
Ingredients
Cranberry Filling
- 3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
Shortbread Crust and Crumble
- 2¼ cups (270 g) all purpose flour
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (170 g) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Line an 9 x 9 (23 cm) aluminum pan with parchment paper along the bottom and two sides.
- Add the fresh or frozen cranberries, sugar, orange zest and cornstarch to a large mixing bowl. Toss the ingredients together until the cranberries are fully coated. Set aside while making the shortbread crust and crumble topping.3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 1 tablespoon orange zest
- Make the buttery crust and crumb topping by combining the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together in a food processor. Pulse 2 -3 times to combine the ingredients. Pulse in cubes of cold butter until the mixture resembles a crumble texture. Finally pulse in the egg yolk and vanilla extract until the mixture starts to clump together.2¼ cups (270 g) all purpose flour, ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon , ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ¾ cup (170 g) cold unsalted butter, cubed, 1 large egg yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Evenly press ? of the shortbread mixture into the prepared pan. Transfer the cranberry filling onto the shortbread crust. Top the cranberry filling with the remaining ⅓ crumble mixture. Make sure to cover as much of the filling as much as possible, but spots of exposed filling is fine.
- Bake the cranberry bars for 45 - 55 minutes or until the crust is a nice golden brown with edges of the crust pulling slightly away from the sides of the pan. The cranberry filling will thicken and bubble.
- Cool the cranberry crumble bars in the pan for 1 hour. If the bars are too soft to easily transfer from the pan after 1 hour at room temperature, transfer to the fridge to set for another hour. Once the bars are set, top with powdered sugar or orange vanilla maple glaze or enjoy as is.
Notes
Make Ahead: Make the dough for the cranberry bars up to 2 days in advance. Store the dough wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge. Bring to room temperature before using in the recipe.
Store: Keep these cranberry crumble bars covered in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 - 4 days.
Orange Vanilla Maple Glaze: Mix 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar with 1 - 2 tablespoons (15 - 30 ml) orange juice, 1 - 2 tablespoons (15 - 30 ml) maple syrup and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth and well combined. Drizzle over the cooled cranberry crumble bars.
Troubleshooting Cranberry Bars
- Bars falling apart: Let the bars cool completely before slicing so the cranberry filling and crust have time to set.
- Crumble topping too dry: Make sure the butter is evenly distributed throughout the crumble mixture. It should form small clumps when gently squeezed.
- Topping too soft: Bake until the crumble is lightly golden and the filling is bubbling around the edges. Cool completely before storing.
- Cranberry filling too runny: Follow the recommended baking time and use the specified thickener, if included. Allow the bars to cool fully before cutting.
- Bars too tart: Cranberries are naturally tart, so adjust the sugar slightly to suit your taste if needed.
- Bars difficult to slice: Let the bars cool completely before cutting. For cleaner slices, chill briefly if the filling is still soft and use a sharp knife.
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