Cranberry Crumb Bars

This post is sponsored by Imperial SugarDixie Crystals and Bob’s Red Mill. I received free product as a part of The Sweetest Season Cookie Exchange. As always, all opinions, thoughts and recipes are my own.

Leftover cranberries from Thanksgiving? No worries! These dairy-free and vegan Cranberry Crumb Bars are a great way to celebrate the sweetness of cranberry in cookie bar form during the holiday season. You can make these beauts with gluten-free Graham crackers and flour to serve them to GF friends, too!

Cranberry Crumb Bar on plate with forks with glass of milk

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I was standing over the stovetop, cooking down two cups of leftover sugared cranberries, when I said to my daughter’s nanny, “These smell weird. I don’t know if they’ve gone bad or what.”

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    Raychel looked up from the cookie dough she was scooping onto a baking sheet and said, “Well, that’s a ringing endorsement for these crumb bars you’re making.”

    And so it went.

    Cranberry Crumb Bar on white plate with fork and glass of milk

    Cranberries and I have a weird relationship.

    … Honestly, is anyone surprised by this anymore?

    Me and food, in general, have strange relationships, and it turns out that I overcome them some of the time. Including that unfortunate lactose intolerance I experienced for a few years that magically disappeared during pregnancy… and has stayed gone since. It’s confusing, but I’ll take it because I adore dairy products.

    Close up of Cranberry Crumb Bar on plate with forks and glass of milk

    … Back to the story and the cranberries. The ones I was cooking down for these crumb bars were making me feel sketchy.

    So I did what any lazy cook does: I ignored that feeling and continued stirring, added some sugar and orange juice and hoped for the best.

    When the cranberries got gooey, I decided it was time for a taste. I was pleasantly surprised that they were fantastic: tart (like any cranberry dish should be!) and slightly sweet with some lovely tang from the orange juice.

    So I slathered ’em on top of my pre-baked graham cracker crust, sprinkled on the crumble topping and popped ’em in the oven to bake.

    Overhead view of Cranberry Crumb Bar on white plate with forks

    Voila! Cranberry Crumb Bars.

    Super easy AND super delicious.

    Oh! And these beauts are dairy free!

    Long story short: These bars are perfect for a holiday party, especially if you know someone who doesn’t enjoy chocolate and/or has a sweet tooth that is finicky about too-sweet desserts and/or is lactose intolerant.

    Cranberry crumb bar on plate with milk and baking pan

    Cranberry Crumb Bars Essentials

    Get the look!

    Cranberry Crumb Bar on plate with glass of milk

    Curious about more cranberry desserts? I highly recommend Cranberry Pinwheel Cookies, Cranberry Orange Ginger Biscotti and Orange Cranberry Bars. And you can never go wrong with Cranberry Walnut Bread.

    Just interested in these crumb bars?

    Scroll on down to learn how to make ’em in your own kitchen!

    Cranberry crumb bar on plate with milk and baking pan
    Yield: 9 crumb bars

    Cranberry Crumb Bars

    Prep Time: 20 minutes
    Cook Time: 40 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour

    Leftover cranberries from Thanksgiving? No worries! These dairy-free and vegan Cranberry Crumb Bars are a great way to celebrate the sweetness of cranberry in cookie bar form during the holiday season. You can make these beauts with gluten-free Graham crackers and flour to serve them to GF friends, too!

    Ingredients

    Graham Cracker Crust

    • 1 ¼ cup Graham cracker crumbs
    • ¼ cup granulated sugar
    • ¼ cup coconut oil, melted

    Cranberry Filling

    • 2 cups sugared cranberries (or regular fresh cranberries)
    • ½ cup granulated sugar (if using fresh cranberries, additional sugar might be needed)
    • ¼ cup freshly-squeezed orange juice

    Crumble Topping

    • ¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
    • ¼ cup rolled oats
    • ¼ cup granulated sugar
    • A pinch of kosher salt
    • ¼ coconut oil, melted

    Instructions

    Make the Graham Cracker Crust

    1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8x8" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray, and set aside.
    2. In a bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs and the sugar until combined. Pour in the coconut oil, mixing until the consistency is of wet sand.
    3. Pour the ingredients into the prepared baking dish, pressing the crumbs onto the bottom into a crust layer.
    4. Place in the oven, and bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
    5. Remove from oven and let cool.

    Prepare the Cranberry Filling

    1. While the crust is baking, prepare the cranberry filling.
    2. In a saucepan over medium heat, add the cranberries, sugar and orange juice.
    3. Bring the ingredients to a boil, then let them simmer until the cranberries have popped and released their juice. The sauce will thicken and become gooey.
    4. When the sauce has thickened, remove from the heat, and set aside.

    Make the Crumble Topping

    1. In a glass bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, sugar and salt until combined.
    2. Pour in the melted coconut oil, mixing with your hand or a fork gently to create a crumbly topping.

    Prepare the Crumble Bars

    1. Pour the prepared cranberry filling on top of the baked graham cracker crust.
    2. On top of the cranberry filling, sprinkle the crumble topping.
    3. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the crumble topping browns slightly.
    4. Remove from the oven, and let cool completely before cutting into squares and enjoying!

    Notes

    This recipe can easily be made gluten free by swapping the regular Graham crackers for a gluten free variety and the regular AP flour with a gluten free blend.

    Nutrition Information:

    Yield:

    9 bars

    Serving Size:

    1 bar

    Amount Per Serving: Calories: 223Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 69mgCarbohydrates: 38gFiber: 1gSugar: 26gProtein: 2g

    Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate.

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    What are your feelings on fresh cranberries?

    Want to join in on this celebration of butter, sugar and holiday ingredients? We’ll be sharing new cookie recipes until Saturday! Head on over to The Sweetest Season landing page to get details!

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    About the Author:

    Erin Parker is a Southern gal living in Texas with her husband and two daughters. She started The Speckled Palate to share what she was cooking as a newlywed… and over the years, it’s evolved to capture her love for hosting. Specifically, the EASIEST, lowest key entertaining because everyone deserves to see their people and connect over good food. Learn more about her

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    4 Comments

    1. Yay! These look fabulous! I have a bag of cranberries (that I hope haven’t gone bad 😉 ) waiting to be made into delicious bars like these. I’ve also been dying to make sugared cranberries – so we’ll see which craving wins out in the end!

      1. Thanks so much, Megan! And you should TOTALLY use those cranberries to make BOTH. That’s what I did, and it worked out quite well. Also? If I hadn’t given away half of these bar cookies, I would have eaten the entire thing. So. Proceed with caution. 😉

    2. Oh Erin, this is something I could make! I was going to get cranberries but I’m not a big fan of cranberry sauce with meat (sacrilege, I know!) but didn’t just want to make jam. I’m so going to attempt this for our family get together. 🙂

      On a separate note, I’m happy that your lactose issues have disappeared. More cheese!

      1. DO IT, Jayne! We’ve all got some food weirdnesses, ya know? And not liking cranberry sauce with meat makes sense to me. So I hope these bar cookies knock the socks off your family members and that they don’t remind you at all of that cranberry sauce that was paired with meat (even though I’m sure it was good in its own right.)

        And you and me both, girl. All the cheese, please!

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