A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything. Would you believe me if I told you I asked for salt? I love picking up different varieties, whether we’re traveling or I’m just visiting a new shop. Maddie grabbed me a super cute one from her trip to Paris last year, and the Magic Unicorn Salt I get locally is another favorite. What’s yours?
One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻
When you really really really want to be best frie When you really really really want to be best friends. 💛
When a stressful week with deadlines ends with Nat When a stressful week with deadlines ends with National Cheese Lovers Day, how could I not partake? Tbh, I wasn’t especially hungry, and the appetizers are always the best section of any menu, so the queso blanco from El Mejicano in town wasn’t too hard a choice. It’s smoky and cheesy and I could have licked the bowl clean, but a girl’s gotta have some boundaries. Happy weekend, friends! ✨
A friend saw this placard and said it reminded her A friend saw this placard and said it reminded her of me and dropped it off in our mailbox, which really touched me. 💛 Life is too freaking short not to make conscious decisions to do more of what makes you happy, and to cut out the things that don’t. Rainbow Rowell said it best, “So, what if, instead of thinking about solving you whole life, you just think about adding additional good things. One at a time. Just let your pile of good things grow.”
The face and the daily hiccups… 😍 The face and the daily hiccups… 😍
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Press
  • Writing
  • Contact

Sweetnicks

Food and Life

Recipe: Cranberry Almond Bars

December 17, 2009 · Narrative

Cranberry Almond Bars

“Cate, these are, without a doubt, my favorite thing that you have ever made.”

The call came early one morning, about 30 minutes after I gave a friend a few of these Cranberry Almond Bars. I knew she had a soft spot for cranberries, and kept meaning to make her a loaf of Cranberry Bread. When I spied these Cranberry Almond Bars, I thought these would do in the meantime. And perfect to use up some cranberries I had leftover from Thanksgiving’s Cranberry Conserve. I have given her a baked good or otherwise food item from my kitchen roughly two or three times a month for the past two years. This is the second recipe she has asked me for. Although she has liked everything, she’s always scolding me for making her wipe the chocolate off her mouth as she pulls in the gym’s parking lot. Something about defeating the purpose of exercise.  She doesn’t want the temptation. But these? These Cranberry Almond Bars tempted her.

I whipped them up one night while Nick was clearing the dinner table. They are crazy simple to make and, given the praise they have garnered so far, I don’t think you can NOT make them. They were disappearing so quickly, I had to hide two pieces just so I could take a picture.

Having holiday company over? Guests coming for dinner? Need a treat for your neighbors? Bake up these babies and you (and your recipient) will not be disappointed. I can almost guarantee it.

Cranberry Almond Bars
Recipe courtesy of Bake at 350

3/4 cups unsalted butter
1/3 cup slivered almonds, divided (I skipped the almonds, but only because I thought I had them on hand, and didn’t)
1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon coarse salt
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 whole eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups cranberries, fresh

Melt the butter and set aside (or put in the fridge) to cool. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the almonds for the top of the batter and chop the remaining almonds. Set aside.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8x 8 pan. Whisk together the flour and salt; set aside.

Beat the sugar and eggs for 3 minutes. Add the cooled melted butter and almond extract; beat until combined.  Add the flour to the sugar/butter mixture and mix on low until combined. Stir in the cranberries and chopped almonds.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Spread evenly with an offset spatula (if you have one).  Sprinkle with the reserved almonds.

Bake for about 50 minutes (mine needed an extra 10 minutes or so), or until a toothpick comes out with crumbs, not wet. (Cover with foil during the last 5 minutes of baking to prevent over-browning, if necessary.) Cool in the pan on a cooling rack. Makes 12 bars.

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPRINT

Posted In: Narrative · Tagged: Bake at 350 blog, Cranberry Almond Bars

Comments

  1. Claire says

    December 17, 2009 at 9:41 pm

    mmmmmm…this looks so good. And almost healthy with the cranberries and almonds! :-)

    Reply
  2. Ciaochowlinda says

    December 17, 2009 at 9:50 pm

    I’ve got all the ingredients ready to go – can’t wait for them to come out of the oven to enjoy.

    Reply
  3. so Spiffy says

    December 17, 2009 at 10:03 pm

    This looks delish…. almond and cranberry two of my favorite.. this recipe will never disappoint. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  4. Merry says

    December 17, 2009 at 10:14 pm

    I KNEW I should have bought that bag of cranberries I had in my hand at the store today but NOOOOO I had to put them back. Drat! I *heart* anything cranberry so these will be on the short list to be made pronto. Thanks for posting!

    Reply
  5. patsy says

    December 17, 2009 at 10:31 pm

    Oh, those are looking too good to pass up!

    Reply
  6. stacie says

    December 18, 2009 at 12:26 am

    Those look sooooo good!

    Reply
  7. Joanne says

    December 18, 2009 at 7:13 am

    These look incredibly delicious! I would be gobbling up the whole tray in the gym parking lot…definitely would not be able to stop at one! I really like htat they use fresh instead of dried cranberries.

    Reply
  8. bridget {bake at 350} says

    December 18, 2009 at 10:03 am

    Oh, I’m so glad you liked them! :) You are making me want to make them again!

    Thank you so much for the links! Happy Holidays!

    Reply
  9. Ramona says

    December 18, 2009 at 10:12 am

    Looks like a great recipe. Your friend is lucky to have you sharing 2 or 3 times a month. Very sweet of you.

    Reply
  10. Debbie says

    December 18, 2009 at 12:45 pm

    I’d love to give these a try…different from the usual cranberry bread, and I love cranberries!!!!

    Reply
  11. Natasha - 5 Star Foodie says

    December 18, 2009 at 6:11 pm

    Cranberry and almonds sound so good together in these scrumptious bars, yum!

    Reply
  12. Shannon says

    December 18, 2009 at 11:20 pm

    i’ve seen alot of awesome things come out of your kitchen, but if these are the best… i should find my way into my kitchen :)

    Reply
  13. Amanda says

    December 20, 2009 at 2:13 pm

    Wow, these look delicious! I think I may have to make them for x-mas eve dinner. Happy holidays!

    Reply
  14. Andrea says

    July 11, 2012 at 9:06 am

    This look good! Can I use frozen or dried if I don’t have fresh cranberries?

    Reply
  15. Tee says

    March 16, 2013 at 2:32 pm

    My bars turned out really delicious. I also modified it a tad. I addeda 1 cup of wheat flour and the rest a mix of almond and coconut flour. It gave the bar some more bar like firmness. I was a bit concerned the coconut flour would make it to moist but it turns out the other flours balanced it out.

    Reply
  16. Mae says

    December 18, 2013 at 3:21 pm

    Thank you for sharing this recipe! I did search for cranberry recipes to use up my leftover cranberries, and was having a hard time finding one that didn’t require me to go shopping! They’re in the oven right now :)

    Reply
  17. Rosie says

    January 31, 2019 at 5:41 am

    I have been using this recipe for some months now and it is my favourite sweet treat. They are so very delicious, so thank you very much cate, just got more in the oven now. Lucky me for finding this recipe, although cranberries here in the UK are only out for a short time Dec/Jan, I freeze some.
    I may try freezing a bar to see if it works.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

Storytelling…
Through photos.
Words. And recipes.

Archives

Categories

Instagram

A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything. Would you believe me if I told you I asked for salt? I love picking up different varieties, whether we’re traveling or I’m just visiting a new shop. Maddie grabbed me a super cute one from her trip to Paris last year, and the Magic Unicorn Salt I get locally is another favorite. What’s yours?
One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻

Pinterest

A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything. Would you believe me if I told you I asked for salt? I love picking up different varieties, whether we’re traveling or I’m just visiting a new shop. Maddie grabbed me a super cute one from her trip to Paris last year, and the Magic Unicorn Salt I get locally is another favorite. What’s yours?
One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻
When you really really really want to be best frie When you really really really want to be best friends. 💛
When a stressful week with deadlines ends with Nat When a stressful week with deadlines ends with National Cheese Lovers Day, how could I not partake? Tbh, I wasn’t especially hungry, and the appetizers are always the best section of any menu, so the queso blanco from El Mejicano in town wasn’t too hard a choice. It’s smoky and cheesy and I could have licked the bowl clean, but a girl’s gotta have some boundaries. Happy weekend, friends! ✨
A friend saw this placard and said it reminded her A friend saw this placard and said it reminded her of me and dropped it off in our mailbox, which really touched me. 💛 Life is too freaking short not to make conscious decisions to do more of what makes you happy, and to cut out the things that don’t. Rainbow Rowell said it best, “So, what if, instead of thinking about solving you whole life, you just think about adding additional good things. One at a time. Just let your pile of good things grow.”
The face and the daily hiccups… 😍 The face and the daily hiccups… 😍

Copyright © 2023 Sweetnicks · Theme by Vicki Harrison Design