Fresh Cranberry Bars layer tart, jammy cranberries between a buttery shortbread crust and crumble topping ~ bright, simple, and made for the holidays.
When I spotted the first stack of fresh cranberries in my supermarket the other day I lunged at them. These easy cranberry shortbread bars were in the oven before the other groceries were even unpacked. So good.
➡ The filling for these crumble bars is simply raw cranberries ~ just toss them in! They bake up into tart little jammy pockets.
➡ There’s only one bowl to worry about, no nuts to chop, no spices to measure.
➡ These are perfect for pot-lucks, bake sales, book groups, office parties, all that stuff. They pack and travel well, and can be eaten with fingers or forks.
Simple shortbread dough in 3 ingredients
The crust and crumble of these cranberry bars are made with the same simple shortbread dough. Pat some of it into your pan for the bottom crust, and crumble the rest over the berries for the topping.
Butter: I use a good quality salted butter. Cheap butter can contain extra water and doesn’t bake up as nicely.
Sugar: I use white sugar for this classic shortbread crumble, but you can also use light brown, or even maple sugar.
Flour: regular AP flour is standard. A good gf baking blend also works.
Using fresh cranberries
Just give them a rinse and dry well. They’re ready to go. Tumble them right onto the bottom crust.
Note: if you find cranberries too tart on their own you can cook them down with a splash of water and a little sugar in a saucepan until they start to pop. Then let cool and spread over the bottom crust.
cranberry shortbread bars are a versatile holiday treat
- For dessert: serve them with coffee after dinner. Dust with powdered sugar for a festive look.
- For breakfast or brunch: fresh out of the oven in the morning.
- Take along: perfect for the office, bake sale, church supper.
- Holiday cookie collection: once cooled these bars are quite sturdy. You can even cut them into small squares and add them to a cookie platter.
- Get a head start: they freeze well.
the flavor of cranberries blooms in the oven
They get soft and jammy, and become even more brilliant red when they bake, so these bars are especially pretty. I use vanilla in these cranberry bars, but you can also use almond extract, and then the cranberries take on a cherry flavor.
Reader wisdom: tips, tweaks & little discoveries
Over the years, readers have left some really useful ideas in the comments:
- You guys have had great luck using frozen cranberries straight from the freezer ~ no thawing needed, and no soggy bars.
- Orange is a favorite addition. A little orange zest in the dough or cranberries, or a simple orange glaze on top, comes up again and again.
- Almond is another popular direction. Readers have added almond extract, sliced almonds, and even a little almond paste.
- A double batch works beautifully in a 9×13 pan, which is handy for holidays, potlucks, and bigger groups.
- One reader solved a too-hard bottom crust by pressing the dough in more lightly and pulling the bars as soon as the edges started to turn golden.
- You’ve also played with extra cranberries, white chocolate, walnuts, coconut, cinnamon, and a little sugar sprinkled over the top.
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Fresh Cranberry Bars
Equipment
- 9×9 baking pan you can also use an 8×8 pan
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- Line an 8×8 or 9×9 baking pan with parchment paper or foil with overhanging edges, this will make it easy to lift the bars out of the pan for cutting. Alternatively you can just lightly spray the pan with non-stick spray.
- Cream the 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature and 2/3 cup sugar together. Beat in the 1/2 tsp salt and 1 Tbsp vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract.
- Mix in the 2 cups AP flour, just until combined. The dough will be crumbly, but should hold together when pressed between your fingers. Mix long enough so that there is no dry flour left.
- Using your fingers, pat 2/3 of the dough into the bottom of the pan. The dough will be soft and sticky, do your best to cover the entire surface of the bottom, but you don't need to compact the dough, just firmly pat it down.
- Spread the 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed and patted dry out across the dough, and then, using your fingers again, crumble the remaining dough on top. Try to get the dough in smallish crumbles, but don't worry about covering all the cranberries, they will show through.
- Bake for about 45-50 minutes until just beginning to get golden around the edges.
- Cool on a rack before slicing.
Nutrition
you can never have too many cranberry recipes
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Fresh Cranberry Recipes
Fresh cranberry season is short, so I make the most of it ~ muffins, cakes, pies, sauces, preserves, and savory recipes that put those tart little berries to work. fresh cranberry recipes for cranberry season This is what you do with those bags of crimson gems you score in October through December.
These are so good!! I have 3 boys and they love them!!
Love this recipe! Not too sweet!
I use only 1/2 cup sugar. Substitute 1 cup of flour with almond flour and heaped the flours when measuring. I also added some almond abstract and toasted sliced almond. Doubled the cranberry. Tasted amazing!
These are delicious! I added white chocolate chips <3
That’s such a nice combination!
I made these for Thanksgiving, I doubled the recipe and used a 13×9 pan, I also added a bit of Lemon Zest and lemon juice to the dough and tossed the cranberries in cinnamon and they were a hit. Made them again tonight the same way but added walnut pieces and they are amazing!!! Thank you so much for the recipe
Sounds like you got a tradition in the making, so glad it worked out for you Betina!
Hi Sue,
I made your cranberry bars recipe! I was in fact so easy, and came out full of flavor. Thanks so much! I also wrote about your recipe in my blog and referenced you and your site.
Oh yours look beautiful Susannah, thanks for coming back here to let me know 🙂
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was so good, it was gone even with having pies and other choices. The flaky crust layers mixed with the delightful tangy cranberries huge hit. I got cranberries from my CSA share tonight and plan to make this again! I made extra dough so the top was completely covered and added two extra tablespoons of sugar.
I have made low carb version of this twice with coconut flower and stevia, always turned out great. The color is adorable and the aroma of coconut goes well with cranberries.
Thank you for the great recipe!
Nice to know. thanks!
I came across this recipe whilst searching for something to make with the whole cranberries I have left from Thanksgiving! We’re having Christmas cookie baking day tomorrow (me, my daughter and my DIL) and I’m going to try these! This is supposed to be bake and freeze, then bring out for various events, but not sure these will make it to the freezer, they look so good!
I love cookie baking days…have fun!
Made them, and they are a hit!
If I didn’t cut these, do you think they would ship well?
If you wrap them well and wedge them in between bubble wrap or something that prevents them from shifting at all, they’d be fine.
I have been making these every Thanksgiving for the past four years. They are so delicious! My son looks forward to them every year (as do I). Thanks for such a simple and delicious way to use up that extra bag of cranberries.