Cranberry Crumble Bars
Made with tart cranberries and orange zest, between a sweet and nutty crumb mixture, these easy Cranberry Crumble Bars have a tender texture and are so delicious. The pretty colors make this crumb bar recipe a perfect holiday dessert.
Servings: 18 bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour , spooned and leveled
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup pecans , finely chopped
- 1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar , divided
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 cup cold butter , cut into cubes
- 1 large egg , beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 3 & 1/2 cups frozen cranberries (do not thaw)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper with a slight overhang on the 2 longer sides.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, rolled oats, chopped pecans, 1 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Cut in the butter with a fork or pastry blender (or your hands) until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Then stir in the egg and vanilla with a fork (dough should remain crumbly.)
- Press half the crumb mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- Wipe out the bowl used for the dough. Add in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, the cornstarch, and orange zest; stir to combine. Dump in the cranberries and toss to coat.
- Spoon the cranberries over the crumb mixture in the pan. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the cranberry mixture (do not press it down.)
- Bake 40 to 45 minutes until golden and the filling is bubbly. Let cool completely before slicing into bars.
Notes
Use fresh or frozen berries. These dessert bars work with fresh or frozen cranberries. If you don't love cranberries, feel free to replace them with raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, chopped strawberries, or a combination.
Use quick-cooking oats. The old fashioned oats can be replaced with quick-cooking oats, if preferred.
Change the nut or omit. Swap out the pecans with walnuts, or simply omit the nuts entirely if there are allergy concerns.
Don't cut back on the sugar. Cranberries are very tart and need the sugar to balance out the flavor.
Make sure the butter is cold. The butter must be cold when cutting it into the flour mixture - not room temperature. I recommend keeping it in the fridge until you need it.
Pack the crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan. Be sure to pack the crumb mixture tightly into the bottom of the pan. This ensures it forms a true crust and doesn't just fall apart when you slice it
Nutrition
Calories: 352kcal · Carbohydrates: 58g · Protein: 3g · Fat: 13g · Saturated Fat: 7g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g · Monounsaturated Fat: 4g · Trans Fat: 0.4g · Cholesterol: 37mg · Sodium: 121mg · Potassium: 99mg · Fiber: 1g · Sugar: 39g · Vitamin A: 348IU · Vitamin C: 21mg · Calcium: 29mg · Iron: 1mg