Delicious Cranberry Crumb Bars , enjoy a tart and sweet bars with nut crust and topping. Easy to serve with scoop of ice cream.
What I like about November is the Thanksgiving and cranberries. Yes, fresh cranberries are now abundant in the market. It is hard to imagine a Thanksgiving turkey dinner without a good old cranberry sauce. I am not going to make Turkey as there are no takers at home. But I love cranberries, especially their tart taste. Since I have tried Cranberry muffins, Cranberry cocktail and loved those, I decided to make this Cranberry crumb bars.
This recipe was adapted from a magazine, as usual I halved the recipe and modified it a bit. If you like tart fruit filled dessert, then go for it. You will love it, you can try this bar as such or if you are sweet lover then go for a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the top that makes perfect treat.
Cranberries have had a reputation for boosting health, dating back to Native-Americans who used them to treat urinary tract infections as well as wounds and other ailments. In more recent years, the fruit has been found to have other potential health benefits. Cranberries contain antioxidants and may also help to lower oxidative stress, an imbalance that causes numerous chronic diseases, including inflammation, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular disease.
How to make Cranberry Crumb Bars ?
Since I wanted the tart taste, I didn’t used any sweetened cranberries if you want you can use canned ones. Both filling as well as crust has orange zest and filling has orange juice.
We are not cooking down cranberry for filling, using as such so it remains intact in flavor and shape. I used only a small amount of crumbs on top, you can increase the amount to about ½ cup.
The crust is made with equal amount of flour as well as almond meal, so you can taste the nuttiness of almond meal more like a cookie crust. I spiced them with ground ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg.
After all, this year you can try some extra helping of cranberries during Thanksgiving meal. I read that Wisconsin's cranberry growers would be grateful. That’s because a surplus fruit is available.
If you are planning a cranberry dessert for this Thanksgiving try this one, your friends and family will love it. This recipe makes only 6 bars you can double or triple it depending upon how much you want.
Cranberry Crumb Bars
Ingredients
- For Filling
- 1 cup cranberries fresh or frozen
- Zest and juice of 1 orange use half of zest for filling other half for crust
- 3 tablespoon sugar
- ¾ teaspoon corn starch
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- Crust
- ¾ cup 75g all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup 75g almond meal
- ½ cup 100g sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- Zest of half orange
- 3 tablespoon cold butter cubed
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F and line 5x2 pan with parchment paper hanging on the sides. IF you double the recipe you can use it in 8x8 inch pan.
- In a small bowl add cranberries, orange juice , half of orange zest , sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon and mix well and set aside.
- In another bowl mix all purpose flour, almond meal, salt, sugar, orange zest, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix well. To this add egg, butter and mix well to combine everything don’t over mix. Set aside ½ cup of this mixture for crumb topping.
- In prepared pan lined with parchment paper press the crust dough and top with filling and then add crumb mixture here and there.
- Bake it in pre-heated oven for 18-20 minutes or until tooth picks comes out clean and top looks like brown in color.
- Enjoy with or without a scoop of vanilla icecream.
Video
Nutrition
This is Swathi ( Dr. Ambujom Saraswathy Ph.D) from Zesty South Indian Kitchen who loves to explore cuisines from all over the world. Whenever possible I try to to give an Indian touch to several of the world cuisine, and has weakness for freshly baked bread. All the recipes you see here are created by me and approved after taste-test by my family.
Natalie says
I LOVE crumb bars. They are like my favorite dessert. I must say I never tried version with cranberries. But now I definitely must because these bars look absolutely amazing. I'm saving te recipe. Will give it a try.
Karyl Henry says
Yum, these look so delicious! I like tart, but not overly tart, so I'd probably use sweetened cranberries. But I do really like the addition of orange juice for flavor and to add a little more subtle sweet
Tammy says
I love cranberries in desserts. I just love the sweet and tart combo. This is a great idea for cranberries than just the classic sauce and I definitely want to give it a try!
Melissa says
I love using cranberries in a dessert, they are perfectly tart which goes so well with the sweetness of sugar...plus I love that you added in the citrus of the orange as well!
April says
You know what - I love November because of Thanksgiving, too! And you are right - cranberries are abundant at this time of the year - time for so many great dishes - just like your bars!
Veena Azmanov says
I love crumb bars - nothing beats a good crumble with a sweet-tart fruit on top. Love how simple and easy this recipe is. Yum.
Marisa Franca says
Your crumb bars look delicious! I love the simple rustic desserts and this is easy enough to make in no time. You are so right about cranberries, they are good for us and best of all they taste good too. I don't like overly sweet things so this dessert would be ideal.
Gloria says
I am on the hunt for fresh cranberries...these bars look delicious. What a great addition to the holiday treat tray.
Pavani says
Wow, those cranberry crumb bars look awesome Swathi. I'm not a big fan of tart cranberries, but would love to try these with ice cream 🙂 Great seasonal recipe.
Dan Zehr says
These bars looks amazing! Great recipe. I like all the ingredients in it. This is perfect for me. thank you.
Mahy Elamin says
Now this is my favorite dessert! My children will be delighted with them! . Yummy! This made me drool. Cannot wait to try this.
Claudia Lamascolo says
such a festive and perfect holiday coloring for the cookie tray. I love cranberry and these are so pretty!
Sarah Meh says
Yes, Cranberries have antioxidants which are good in lowering oxidative stress. I prefer to make bars that are both healthy and tasty. My kids would love it.
Suman Doogar says
OOOooo I loved reading about it and really want to bake them for my nephew. He loves cranberries. It's a always a good idea to use fresh cranberries instead of canned ones.
Summer Mitch Ryan says
I love home cooking, and this one looks delish. There aren't any cranberries around here, could I substitute it with something else?
Amber S. says
This is right on time for Thanksgiving! I can replace the old fashioned cranberry sauce. I can’t wait to try these!
Tabitha Blue says
Okay, so cranberry bliss bars at Starbucks are my guilty pleasure this time of the year and I love anything cranberry. SO going to have to make these!!!
Cheese Curd In Paradise says
I love anything with cranberry and these look beyond delicious! I can't wait to make them!
Denay DeGuzman says
Mmmm....these beautiful cranberry crumb bars look so scrumptious! I can hardly wait to try this recipe!
Peachy @ The Peach Kitchen says
This sounds and looks delicious! It looks so festive too -- it would be nice on the holiday table.
What Corinne Did says
Oooh this looks delicious! Like a crumble but better! I am not big on cranberries so would probably use raspberries!
Terri says
I am not a cranberry lover but my kids. I might have to make this for them. They would go crazy over this.
Terri Beavers says
These would be perfect for our Thanksgiving dessert! I can't wait to make them for everyone and see how much they enjoy them. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Ruth I. says
Yum! This looks so beautiful and tasty! My Mom loves cranberry, I will make this for her.
SHELLEY KING says
We are fans of Cranberry and this looks so fabulous! Always looking for new recipes! I am adding this one to my list!
Dalene Ekirapa says
Oh my gosh! These cranberries look just perfect for dessert and I'm super salivating. They look so sweet. Now I also want cranberry bars!
Joanna says
Cranberries are so good for you, I wish I could find them fresh in the supermarkets where I live. I can only buy them frozen. Still, I think they would be great in your cake. This is a perfect Thanksgiving recipe.
Ricci says
Oh gosh I love all things cranberry! I need to try these bars ASAP!! Thanks for this yummy recipe!!
Latte Lindsay says
You had me at cranberry! I think they are so underrated in the kitchen, I love cooking and baking with them 🙂
Catalina says
Looks fabulous! I haven't tried making cranberry bars but they look easy and delicious! Yum!
Alyssa H says
omg-yum! these sound absolutely amazing!!! and they're so prettym colorful, and festive!
Viv Singer says
This is the second great looking recipe I've printed off today. The first was for a pumpkin latte. Perhaps I'll have them together 🙂
kumamonjeng says
I think this dessert is great not only for Xmas and also for our Chinese new year. The reason is simple, because tons of red are included in. The red from the cranberry. Red is considered an auspicious color in our Chinese new year celebration. Anything red represent good luck and happiness.
Marysa says
These look fantastic, and I think the combination of the sweet with the tart cranberries would taste wonderful. I will have to make these soon while I can still get my hands on fresh cranberries!
Terri Steffes says
I have been a big fan of cranberry lately and this looks like another recipe I need to try. I love the sweet/tart of them.
Lori says
These bars look so amazing! I love that there is a health benefit with the cranberries. And with ice cream on top they look divine!
Pam says
I have a bunch of cranberries that I was trying to figure out what to do with. This looks like a perfect way to use them.
Runcanvas says
Oh my goodness they looks so good. The ice cream on the top for sure! I’m saving this one, thanks
Sarah Bailey says
OK now these sound like they would be absolutely amazing! What a great idea of something very seasonal to make and different with cranberries.
Ashley says
Oh wow these look delicious. I don't think I would want to share lol
Keshia Richmond says
Interesting cranberry dessert for this Thanksgiving. Good for people to try in your country.
Jenn says
Okay, yep, this is a recipe for me. I absolutely love baking with cranberries. They are a favorite of mine. I can't wait to try these. I bet the whole family will love them.
Joan says
Why are you doing this to me? I am trying to avoid sugars but these look so good that maybe I should start the diet after the weekend. Pinning it.
Melissa Chapman says
I love all kinds of bars and crumb cake and this cranberry bar sounds like a great combination of the two. I will try to get some fresh cranberries and make this for Thanksgiving.
Tomi C says
I am always looking for something creative to do with the leftover cranberries. These bars would be different and something different.
Melanie says
I know that some people aren't big on cranberry, but I love the flavor, especially in desserts. This crumb bar looks delicious. I will have to make it for a party for next week.
Jeanette says
My mom is such a huge fan of cranberries that I think I will have to make something like this for her. She would love this and she is coming for Christmas so I think it is perfect.
soonjoo says
I know I always have leftover cranberry after Thanksgiving dinner and I don't know what to do with it. Cranberry crumb bar is great dessert idea! Can't wait to try them!
Hayley says
Yum yum! This looks like a delicious recipe to try!
Amber Myers says
These look so tasty! I just love cranberries so this would be an amazing dessert to try. I might have to make them for the family.
candy says
Don't believe I have ever had a cranberry crumb bar before. Do believe I have been missing out on this yummy treat.