This Cranberry Pecan Crumble Bars recipe is a small batch of dessert bars made with a tender shortbread crust, sweet cranberry filling brightened with fresh orange and cardamom, and finished with a pecan crumble topping. This is a great dessert for the holidays, or to use up all of those leftover holiday cranberries!
Cranberry Pecan Crumble Bars
This recipe for Cranberry Pecan Crumble Bars is very timely – at least in my house. Every year I buy way too many cranberries for the holidays. And every year I end up with at least 2 bags that don’t get used. While I know they will probably keep in the freezer until next year, I would rather make them into sweetly tart dessert bars!
These cranberry bars come together easy, and combine different layers of delicious flavor:
- Shortbread Crust – Think of your classic shortbread cookie as the base of these cranberry bars. Tender, buttery, and ever so slightly sweet.
- Orange Spiked Cranberry Filling – Fresh orange juice and zest complement the tart cranberries.
- Fruity and Spicy Cardamom – While the cardamom is optional, I highly recommend it to add another flavor dimension.
- Sweet and Buttery Pecans – While any nut will work, the buttery and sweet pecans are a great pair with the cranberry filling. Plus, they are abundant during the holiday season!
Small Batch Dessert Bars
This is a pretty easy and forgiving dessert recipe. You can double it, add additional spices, or even fruit, and it will still turn out great. Certainly, some ingredients may alter the result of the shortbread – such as liquid (milk, cream, juice), or nut butters (I have been tempted to try peanut butter!) – so you may want to avoid items that change the consistency too much.
Ingredients
- Orange – 1 medium orange is all you need for the juice and the zest.
- Fresh or Frozen Cranberries – If using fresh cranberries, make sure they are dry. Conversely, if using frozen, I don’t recommend thawing them. We don’t want to impart too much extra liquid into the filling.
- Pecans – I like to toast my pecans – or any nut for that matter – when baking with them. I find it releases more of their natural yummy flavors.
- All-Purpose Flour – I have not tested the shortbread with a gluten free flour.
- Unsalted Butter – This is one time when the butter can be cold. The cold butter keeps the shortbread intact and from getting greasy when baked.
- Granulated Sugar
- Salt – We use salt to balance out all of the flavors.
- Ground Cardamom – This is an optional ingredient, but I recommend trying it at least once for its fruity and somewhat spicy flavor.
- Vanilla Extract – Optional, but the vanilla adds more flavor.
- Cornstarch – The cornstarch helps to thicken the cranberry filling.
- Powdered Sugar – The powdered sugar is for the icing on top.
- Milk or Water – It is a very simple recipe for icing, and you can either use any milk you have on hand, or water. If you want to get really fancy, use any extra juice you my have from the fresh orange!
Helpful Tips
- Start with cold butter – We use cold butter cubes to make the shortbread to keep it from falling apart and getting greasy when baked.
- Use your fingers to mix the shortbread crust dough – Using your fingers to cut the butter into the flour and sugar is so much easier. Which is especially true for the small batch of shortbread!
- Don’t forget to reserve part of the dough for the crumble topping – I offer this tip, as I may have forgotten to do this once … Yikes!
- Toast the pecans – Toasted nuts have such a richer flavor, and while it is not required, I highly recommend toasting the nuts. You can do this while the oven is preheating.
- Use a slotted spoon if the cranberry filling has a lot of liquid – It may totally depend on how far ahead you make the filling, or just how juice and fresh the cranberries are, but the filling may produce a lot of liquid. If this is the case, use a slotted spoon to scoop the filling on the crust when ready to bake. Too much liquid will probably make the crust soggy.
- Cover with foil – Only if the top starts to brown too quickly. Place a piece of foil loosely over the pan to keep the crumble topping from burning.
Recipe FAQ
I like extra sweet cranberry sauce. Can I add more sugar to the filling?
You sure can! I would just advise to not add too much!
I have leftover cranberry sauce. Can I just use that?
I think that would work fine! You may just want to watch the bake time since the cranberries have already cooked, it may not take that long for the filling to get bubbly.
Is there another nut that will work instead of pecans?
Walnuts, almonds, or hazelnuts would be an equally delicious alternative.
How should I store the cranberry bars?
The bars will be fine covered at room temperature for 3 to 5 days. They can also be wrapped in plastic wrap, placed in a freezer bag and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
More Small Batch Dessert Bars
- No-Bake Small Batch Key Lime Bars
- Fudgy Brownies with Vanilla Whipped Topping
- Nutty Butterscotch Blondies
- Cinnamon Caramel Nut Crumble Bars
- Apple Chai Cheesecake Bars
- Frosted Brownie Blondies
Cranberry Pecan Crumble Bars
This Cranberry Pecan Crumble Bars recipe is a small batch of dessert bars that are made with a tender shortbread crust, tart and sweet cranberry filling brightened with fresh orange and cardamom, and finished with a pecan crumble topping. This is a great dessert for the holidays, or to use up all of those leftover holiday cranberries!
EQUIPMENT
INGREDIENTS
Shortbread Crust
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
- 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Cranberry Filling
- 1 ½ cups cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- ½ teaspoon orange zest
- ¼ cup, plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Crumble Topping
- ¼ cup pecans, chopped (toasting is optional)
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
- 1/3 of reserved shortbread crust
Cardamom Icing (optional)
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 to 2 teaspoons milk or water
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Optional – While the oven is preheating, you can toast the pecans. Scatter the pecans on a small baking sheet and toast for about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Line a 6×6 inch square cake pan with parchment paper: Cut two strips of parchment to fit the sides of the pan, and long enough to hang over the sides. Line the pan with the paper strips crossed. This creates a sling to lift the bars out of the pan.
Shortbread Crust
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, and butter cubes. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter, two forks, or your fingers (works best!), until a crumbly moist dough forms. This may take a few minutes for the butter to moisten the flour.
- Reserve 1/3 of the dough for the crumble topping in a small mixing bowl.
- Press the remaining shortbread dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes and until the edges are golden. Set the baked crust on a wire rack, and keep the oven on.
- While the shortbread is baking, make the filling and crumble.
Cranberry Filling
- In a small mixing bowl, add the cranberries, orange juice and zest, sugar, cardamom (if using), vanilla extract, and cornstarch. Toss to mix and coat the cranberries thoroughly. Set aside. Note – If using frozen cranberries, I don't recommend thawing them as they will release too much moisture. If using fresh cranberries, make sure they have had time to dry after rinsing to clean them.
Crumble Topping
- Add the chopped pecans and cardamom (if using) to the reserved shortbread dough. Mix with your hands to distribute the pecans. Because the dough is crumbly, the pecans won't necessarily 'stick' to the dough, which is fine.
- Assemble the bars to bake – Spoon the cranberry filling on top of the baked shortbread crust. It is fine if the crust is warm. Sprinkle the crumble topping over the top of the cranberries. Note – If the cranberry filling has a lot of liquid, use a slotted spoon to spoon the cranberry filling on top of the crust. An excessive amount of liquid my make the crust too moist.
- Bake the bars for 38 to 42 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and cranberries are bubbly. Note – If the crumble topping is browning too quickly, loosely cover the pan with a piece of aluminum foil.
- Cool the bars completely in the pan set on a wire cooling rack. We cool in the pan so the filling has time to set. When ready to serve, gently lift the bars out of the pan using the parchment paper sling. Cut the bars into desired shapes and sizes, drizzle with cardamom icing and Enjoy!
Cardamom Icing
- In a small mixing bowl, add the powdered sugar, cardamom (if using), and 1 teaspoon of milk or water to start. Stir, and add more liquid as necessary until you reach your desired icing consistency. Note – Add extra liquid in about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon increments. A little will go a long way to make the icing.
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RECIPE NOTES
See the blog post for more recipe Tips and FAQ’s!
NUTRITION ESTIMATES
Calories: 212kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 67mg | Potassium: 50mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 250IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is calculated by a third-party and should only be considered an estimate and not a guarantee.
about the author ...
I'm Erin and I'm all about desserts - and a little bit of butter!
I've tested, written, and photographed hundreds of recipes on my website. Here you'll find the tastiest small batch desserts - all homemade, all simple, and all for you! Click here to learn more about me!