By now, your main Thanksgiving leftovers are probably limited to a few cups of shredded turkey and a container of dressing. But if you’re like me, you’re the only one in your family who likes cranberry sauce and still have almost all of it left over. I have to have cranberry sauce on the table because it’s tradition and I do like it! But the rest of my family doesn’t and I always end up with a lot left. My favorite thing to do is turn cranberry sauce into something delicious after Thanksgiving. You can use your cranberry sauce to make an easy appetizer with crispy bread and melty brie, muffins for breakfast, or these easy cranberry crumble bars.
With a buttery and sweet shortbread type base and a tart cranberry filling, these cranberry crumble bars are the perfect little treat to enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea or gift to your neighbors and friends. The crumble bar base and topping is the same, you simply press about 2/3 of the base into a baking pan lined with parchment paper, put your cranberry filling in the middle, and sprinkle the remaining crumble topping on the top. You may find yourself making cranberry sauce just to enjoy this dessert! The shortbread base and topping is simple, made with flour, sugar, salt, and melted butter. For the filling you’re going to take your cranberry sauce and amp it up with eggs, cream, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and vanilla. The recipe calls for 2 1/2 cups of cranberry sauce, but you can use a little more or less without it changing how the recipe turns out.
Simple and delicious and perfect for this time of year, they’re a great dessert for entertaining or adding to your Christmas cookie boxes.
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¾ cup melted butter
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 2½ cups leftover cranberry sauce
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9x13 or 8x11 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and melted butter for the crust. The mixture will be the consistency of wet sand. Press about ⅔ of the mixture into the prepared baking dish. I use the bottom of a measuring cup to make sure it's flat, even, and completely pressed down. Set aside.
- In the same bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and flour until very smooth. Add the cranberry sauce and mix until well combined.
- Pour the mixture over the prepared crust.
- Crumble the remaining crust topping over the top.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until the topping begins to turn golden brown and the center is set. I find that a 9x13 pan takes 30 minutes and an 8x11 or 8x12 pan takes closer to 35 minutes.
- Let bars cool completely before slicing and serving.
- Enjoy!
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