Cranberry Christmas Recipes: Buttery Crumble Bars
These Cranberry Crumble Bars feature a browned butter shortbread base, tart cranberry-orange filling, and a golden crumb topping. A festive, easy-to-slice dessert perfect for the holidays.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 16 bars 1x
Ingredients
Scale
Crust & Crumble:
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, browned
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Filling:
- 2½ cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- Optional: ½ tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8-inch pan with parchment paper.
- Brown the butter and let cool slightly.
- Mix dry crust ingredients, then stir in butter and vanilla until crumbly.
- Press ¾ of mixture into pan. Bake 12–14 min.
- In a saucepan, simmer cranberries, sugar, juice, zest, cornstarch, and cinnamon for 8–10 min.
- Spread filling over crust. Top with reserved crumble.
- Bake 25–30 min until golden and bubbling. Cool completely, then slice.
Notes
Chill before slicing for neat bars. Store refrigerated up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2 months.