After a big holiday gathering, there’s a good chance you’ve got leftover cranberry sauce. Here’s a new way to use it to make a delicious treat: cranberry sauce bars!
Why you'll love these Cranberry Bars
These bars combine the sweet and tart flavors of cranberry sauce with a buttery, crumbly crust. Every bite is a wonderful delight!
And the best part? They’re so easy! Only 5 ingredients needed for the crust, and leftover cranberry sauce makes the filling. Don’t have enough cranberry sauce? Just mix in some jam! The recipe is very forgiving, and you can get as creative as you’d like with the filling flavors. 😁
Cranberry Bars Recipe Ingredients
- Cranberry sauce
- Egg
- Flour
- Sugar
- Butter
- Baking soda
How to make Cranberry Crumble Bars
This recipe is based upon my red, white and blueberry crumble bars I made for 4th of July. Like Thanksgiving, this is another strictly American holiday, now that I think of it. . .
The red, white and blue version makes a 9 x 13 pan. I wanted a smaller amount this time, so reduced it down to an 8 x 8 size. I simply made half the amount of the crust. The only tricky part to this is that the original recipe called for one egg. So, for this smaller recipe, we need half an egg. Awkward. I used just the yolk and added the extra egg white to my scrambled eggs for breakfast. 😃
- Mix up the dough and press half of it into the pan.
- Then, spread the cranberry sauce evenly over the dough.
- Crumble the remaining dough over the cranberry layer.
- Then bake for about 30-35 minutes, until the top is slightly brown.
- Cool before cutting.
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The recipe states 2 cups of sauce but as you can see, that does make a pretty thick layer of sauce. Plus, when you have leftovers it’ll probably be something like 1.2167 cups. Right? Feel free to use whatever amount you have; I’m guessing one cup would be the absolute minimum. Or you could supplement the amount by adding a little jam. I think a raspberry-cranberry combination would be extremely delightful! This is a very flexible recipe so feel free to experiment a little.
These cranberry sauce bars are a great way to enjoy your holiday leftovers!
Cranberry Bar Variations
As mentioned above, you can supplement the cranberry sauce with some jam, and the flavor possibilities are vast! I lean toward raspberry or blueberry with my cranberry sauce, but apricot jam, strawberry, or even orange marmalade would be fun to try!
You could add some graham cracker crumbs to the crust for a different flavor and texture. And some chopped nuts or mini chocolate chips could turn these into a whole new dessert!
How to store Cranberry Crumble Bars
Store the bars in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to a week. If you’re baking ahead for holiday trays, you can freeze the cut bars in a single layer in an airtight container for a month or two.
Cranberry Bars Recipe FAQs
The best answer is: yes. Everyone has their own preferences, but most will agree that cranberry sauce should be both sweet and tart. Use whatever your favorite flavor is to make these bars.
No, please do not leave your cranberry sauce out overnight. When your meal is done, store the remaining sauce in the fridge until you’re ready to serve it or use it in this recipe.
Cranberry jelly is the solid, gelatinous form of cranberry. It comes out of the can in a solid tube shape and kids seem to love it the most. Cranberry sauce is spoon able, usually contains chunks of cranberries, and is both sweet and tart. My holiday table usually contains both options so that everyone is happy .
📖 Recipe
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Cranberry Crumble Bars
Ingredients
Dough
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 ½ cups flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup butter softened
- 1 egg yolk
Filling
- 2 cups cranberry sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Prepare an 8x8 pan by greasing or lining with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, flour and baking powder. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly.½ cup sugar, 1 ½ cups flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ cup butter, 1 egg yolk
- Press half the dough into the prepared pan.
- Spread the cranberry sauce over the dough to make an even layer. Crumble remaining dough over the cranberry layer.2 cups cranberry sauce
- Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
Julie Barquist
My husband is the only one that loves cranberry for the Holidays, so we always have lots of leftover. I made this dessert and added orange zest. Everyone loved it.
Sula
Perfect!