Cranberry Lemon Bars

Yes, this would have been the perfect recipe to publish right around Thanksgiving or Christmas because you can definitely use leftover cranberry sauce, as long as it’s not the canned kind. Even if you don’t have any leftover cranberry sauce, it’s probably a lot easier to find fresh cranberries around that time than now. But have no fear, I will gladly remind y’all of this recipe later this year. In the meantime, this recipe will work great using frozen cranberries as well!

Ingredients for cranberry layer:

• 12 oz. (340 grams) fresh or frozen cranberries (if you don’t have a kitchen scale, this is roughly 4 cups)
• 0.75 cup (150 grams) sugar
• 3 or 4 large lemons
• Optional: 0.5 cup (125 ml) sour ale or hard cider

Ingredients for crust layer:

• 2.25 cups (285 grams) all -purpose flour
• 0.5 cup (100 grams) sugar
• 1.5 teaspoon salt
• 1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1.125 cups (255 grams) unsalted butter, melted (2.25 standard sticks)

Ingredients for lemon layer:

• 1.75-2 cups (180-200 grams) sugar (depending on how tart or sweet your lemons are – more explanation below)
• 0.5 cup (60 grams) all-purpose flour
• 0.25 teaspoon salt
• 5 large eggs
• Optional but highly recommended: powdered vessel

Directions:

• Combine cranberries, sugar, and the sour ale or hard cider in a saucepan. If you don’t have these on hand or prefer to not use them, substitute with water. If you do use sour ale hard cider, make sure to sip the rest while you bake. It’ll make your baking experience much more delightful.

• Zest two of the lemons into the saucepan and stir to combine. Put the saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil while stirring occasionally. Continue boiling until the berries burst and turn jammy, much like the radar. During this time you will hear nice popping sounds that reminds you that cranberries are hollow on the inside, much like the heads of some of your exes. It should take around 10-15 minutes to reach the right consistency but use your noggin’, I believe in it. Remove from heat and set aside. If you prefer, you can also make this a few days ahead and keep the mixture in the refrigerator until ready to bake.

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9×13 inch (23×33 cm) with parchment paper. Make sure to create a sling because the purpose of this parchment paper is to make it easier to take the bars out of the pan after it’s baked and cooled.
• In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Combine the vanilla into the melted butter, and then pour into the dry ingredients. Stir until the dough comes together, then press into the prepared pan, making sure to have an even layer all across the bottom of the pan. Bake until golden brown around the edges, which should take about 18-20 minutes.

• While the crust bakes, prepare the lemon layer. If you have any un-zested lemons, zest those and combine them with lemon juice. Squeeze all your lemons until you get one cup of juice so use all four lemons if you have to. In another mixing bowl, whisk the sugar, flour and salt. I use meyer lemons because we have a bush in front of our house that produces copious amounts. Because of this, I usually use less sugar in the mixture. If you use regular lemons, make sure to use the full amount of sugar. Add the eggs and whisk to combine. Pour in the lemon juice and whisk to combine.
• After the crust is baked, take it out of the oven and let it cool for a few minutes and then spread the cranberry mixture evenly over the crust. A small offset spatula is perfect for this job but if you don’t have it, use your hands and fingers. They’re the most natural spatula you can find. Just.. you know, wash your hands first. After that, slowly and carefully pour the lemon mixture on top of the cranberry mixture to create the final layer.

• Return the pan to the oven and bake until the filling is fully set. This should take around 22-25 minutes. When checking for doneness, make sure that the mixture is completely set and there is no jiggle. If it still jiggles, continue to bake and check every 2-3 minutes. Once fully baked, cool completely in the pan and then refrigerate until cold and firm. Cut into 24 even pieces, then make it rain with powdered sugar before serving.