Cranberry Pie Bars

Closeup photo of a piece of cranberry pie bar on a small white plate.

5 from 1 vote

These Cranberry Pie Bars are a delicious dessert that features a tart cranberry filling, a sweet cookie crust, and a fun pink glaze.

Prep Time30

Cook Time35

Cooling Time30

Total Time1 35

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Universal

Keyword: bars, Christmas, cookie bars, Cranberries, cranberry, squares

Servings:

Calories: 291kcal

Author: Carissa Serink

Equipment

1 Small saucepan
1 Microplane
1 Stand Mixer or hand mixer
1 9x13" Baking Pan

Ingredients

Cranberry Filling

1 large orange
12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
water

Cookie Crust

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter softened (replace with dairy-free butter alternative to make these pie bars dairy-free)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cranberry Glaze

1/4 cup cranberries (reserved from cranberry filling step, above)
1 Tablespoon water
3/4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Cranberry Filling

Measure out 1/4 cup of the cranberries and set aside. You will be using these for the glaze.
Zest the entire orange into a small saucepan using a microplane. Juice the orange into a 1 cup measuring cup. Add enough water so that there is a total of 1 cup of liquid. Pour this orange juice-water mixture into the saucepan with the orange zest. Add the remaining cranberries and 1/2 cup granulated sugar.
Bring the cranberry mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Once it's boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until all of the cranberries have burst and the mixture is thickened, 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly.

Cookie Crust

Prepare a 9x13" baking pan by lining it with aluminum foil and greasing the foil with oil or butter. Turn oven on to 350°F.
Whisk together 3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Add 1 cup unsalted butter and 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large bowl). Cream the butter and sugar together at medium-high speed. Add 2 large eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and beat the mixture again at medium-high speed until it's light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix at low speed until the flour is completely incorporated and a dough forms.
Press 2/3 to 3/4 of the cookie crust dough evenly into the prepared baking pan. Spread the cranberry filling over the dough. Drop small pieces of the remaining dough evenly over the top of the filling. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the top of the crust is starting to brown. Cool for at least 30 minutes before adding the glaze.

Cranberry Glaze

Place the 1/4 cup cranberries you reserved earlier into a microwaveable, heatproof measuring cup or bowl. Add 1 Tablespoon water and microwave on high heat for 1 minute. Stir the cranberries, and microwave again for another minute, or until the mixture comes to a boil and all of the berries have burst and released their juices. (Note: you can also do this step on the stove in a small saucepan, but it will take a little longer.)
Pour the cranberry mixture through a sieve, pressing gently with the back of a spoon to release all of the juice from the cranberries and scraping the bottom of the sieve into the bowl. Stir 1/2 cup powdered sugar into the cranberry juice mixture. If you want the glaze to be thicker, add more powdered sugar 1 Tablespoon a a time until you reach your desired consistency (I used about 3/4 cup of powdered sugar).
Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cooled pie bars. Serve immediately, or allow the glaze to harden before serving.

Notes

If you don't feel like going to the trouble of making cranberry glaze, or if you just want the glaze to be white, simply make a plain vanilla glaze. Mix 1 Tablespoon of water or milk with 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract with 1/2 to 1 cup of powdered sugar (start with 1/2 cup and add more 1 Tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency).

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