Cranberry Pie Bars
It’s Day 2 of 2023’s 12 Days of Christmas, and I want to talk about cookie bars.
One of my favorite ‘Blank Canvas’ desserts, both to make and to eat, is the cookie bar. A cross between a cookie and a blondie, the cookie bar is a shortcut to making cookies in that you don’t have to roll or press the dough out into any particular shape; the whole thing gets slapped into one pan and baked as one, then cut into squares after baking.
I call it a ‘Blank Canvas’ recipe because it’s a good base for jazzing it up with additional flavors and ingredients. (Though there’s nothing wrong with a plain old fashioned sugar cookie bar in my book.)
I’ve made lots of cookie bars, several of which I’ve shared on the blog (here, here, and here), and one of which has actually been apart of a previous 12 Days of Christmas series. This year, I’m back with another new one that’s been given a holiday treatment.
This year, I’m brining the Blank Canvas cookie bar to the holiday series in order to combine it with one of my favorite ingredients to bake with: cranberries. Cranberries always feature pretty heavily in my holiday baking routine, and this year is no different. Apart from being nice to look at, their tart flavor makes them a really great component to sugary sweet desserts that could use a little balance.
A good cookie bar starts with a good cookie dough. This one is flavored with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and vanilla. I’m going to sound like Ina Garten here, but if you can, use a really good vanilla extract/emulsion for this, it really does make a tasteable difference.
Like the dough, the filling for these is also simple. It’s full of cranberries that are flavored with a little sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon, and the consistency is creamy and smooth thanks to the addition of egg and sour cream. It’s kinda like having a cranberry tart filling on top of a holiday spice cookie.
The taste itself hits all of the boxes. The cookie base is chewy, sweet and spicy. The cranberry filling is smooth and tart. If you’re looking for a quick and easy dessert to make for a potluck, a holiday dinner, a cookie box, or just for the heck of it: this is the one.
Stay tuned for more recipes in the 12 Days of Christmas!
Day 1: Holiday Style- Biscuits & Gravy
Day 2: Cranberry Pie Bars
Cranberry Pie Bars
Recipe Adapted from Food Network
Ingredients
For Crust
- Nonstick cooking spray, for pan
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or emulsion
- Pinch kosher salt
For Filling
- 1 egg
- 1/2 heaping cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or emulsion
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 cups cranberries
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Line the pan with parchment paper so that it hangs over on two sides. Spray the parchment.
In a medium size bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and sugar. Use a fork to cut the butter into the dry ingredients. Add the vanilla extract and continue to mix together until the mixture starts to come together and clump; you can add a few tablespoons of water if necessary. Remove 3/4 cup and reserve; press the remaining crust mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan. Set aside.
For the filling: In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, sour cream, sugar, lemon juice, flour, cornstarch, vanilla extract and cinnamon until smooth. Mix in 1 cup of the cranberries. Pour the filling mixture over the crust, shaking the pan gently to settle the custard and berries. Pour the remaining 1 cup cranberries over the top, spreading them evenly.
Take the reserved crust and sprinkle it over the top of the berries, squeezing the mixture in your hands to encourage large lumps.
Bake for 1 hour. Let cool. Remove the bars from the pan and cut into 9 pieces. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Sharing at Fiesta Friday #513, co-hosted this week by Pauline @ Beautiful Voyager.
Sounds wonderful!
Thank you! They are 😉
Wow! They look so beautiful and festive!
Thank you!
I hope you saved me one Jess!
Sure did Dorothy 😉
Jess, I was all excited to make these and went to the grocery stores to get supplies. No one had any cranberries, fresh or frozen. Is it possible to use dried cranberries? Any other suggestions?
Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear that! The good news is, this will work with pretty much ANY berries; blackberries, blueberries, raspberries. Even strawberries will probably be fine here, I’d probably just go with fresh ones if possible, as they do hold more water. I hope this helps!