“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.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
mmmmmm…this looks so good. And almost healthy with the cranberries and almonds! :-)
I’ve got all the ingredients ready to go – can’t wait for them to come out of the oven to enjoy.
This looks delish…. almond and cranberry two of my favorite.. this recipe will never disappoint. Thanks for sharing.
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!
Oh, those are looking too good to pass up!
Those look sooooo good!
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.
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!
Looks like a great recipe. Your friend is lucky to have you sharing 2 or 3 times a month. Very sweet of you.
I’d love to give these a try…different from the usual cranberry bread, and I love cranberries!!!!
Cranberry and almonds sound so good together in these scrumptious bars, yum!
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 :)
Wow, these look delicious! I think I may have to make them for x-mas eve dinner. Happy holidays!
This look good! Can I use frozen or dried if I don’t have fresh cranberries?
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.
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 :)
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.