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
Video
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.
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!
Eliza
These were very sad pastries. Way too tart and not enough sugar. Was hoping they would taste similar to thumb print cookies. Not even close. I used jellied cranberry sauce because we had so many cans of it. Added a handful of dried cranberries since the jellied sauce was tart, I should’ve added some sugar to the sauce as well. The crust was just so bland flavored and one dimensional tasting. Gonna experiment with the recipe since I still have 5+ cans of cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving. Maybe add some vanilla, cinnamon… definitely more sugar. Super confused by all the 5 star reviews.
Sula
So sorry it didn't meet your expectations! I've never tried it with jellied sauce but I would think it would work just fine. I hope you find a combination that works for you!
Camye
I added some orange zest to the cranberry sauce and a handful of chopped walnuts to the topping. Dotted the top with about a tablespoon of butter. Delish!
Sula
Sounds wonderful, thank you for sharing!
Christina
I just made this and it turned out pretty good. Lining your pan with parchment is absolutely essential, or they will stick. I made the mistake of only lining the bottom of my pan, but you want the sides too. I used half brown sugar for a little more depth of flavor. Delicious way to use up leftover cranberry sauce!
Sula
I'm so glad you enjoyed them Christina, and thank you for the kind review!
Anjali
Omg what a creative and easy way to use up all that leftover cranberry sauce I have from Thanksgiving!! We will be making this recipe this weekend!
Sula
Enjoy!
Sarah
It was very good! In fact I’m going to make more cranberry orange sauce for another batch! The taste reminded me of a Linzer cookie but WAY easier to make. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Sula
You're very welcome, and yes I can see how it would remind you of a Linzer cookie! There's something so great about that crust combined with cranberry sauce. Now you've put ME in the mood for another batch! LOL thank you so much for the kind review.
Tawnie
Wow, these were fabulous! I had leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving and these were the perfect treat!
Sula
I'm so glad you liked them Tawnie!
Susan
Can you use cranberry jelly?
Sula
I've never tried that but I think it would work just fine!
Sharon Whitcomb
Just made this with a can of the jelled cranberry sauce. Was not quite 2 cups so added some cherry jelly
It worked just fine !
Sula
You can really supplement with most any jam or jelly, from what I've done. 😁
Jamie
This is such a great idea to make cranberry bars!! I always wonder what to do with leftovers and now I know! Saving this to make this weekend!
Sula
I hope you like them as much as I do!
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
What a tasty way to enjoy leftover cranberry sauce! These look oh so delicious.
Sula
It's the perfect way to use that sauce!
Jenn
This recipe is unbelievably good! So festive, and so easy!
Sula
The best kind, right? Happy Holidays!