Cranberry Lemon Bars

Cranberry Lemon Bars

Cranberries that are quick-cooked into jam add a striking magenta color and complex tartness to these two-toned lemon bars. A thin layer of the classic lemon filling coats the cranberry mix like icing, and lemon zest boiled with the berries echoes the citrus taste of the lemony top. (Its pectin also thickens the jam.) To achieve a sturdy crust that isn’t tough, melted butter is stirred into a flour blend and simply patted into the pan. That vanilla cookie base, generously salted to balance the tangy sweetness on top, comes out crisp and holds up well even as the bars keep in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Yield: 2 dozen bars

For the Cranberry Layer

1 (12-ounce/340-gram) bag fresh or frozen cranberries

¾ cup/150 grams granulated sugar

2 to 3 large lemons

For the Crust

Nonstick cooking spray

1½ cups/190 grams all-purpose flour

⅓ cup/65 grams granulated sugar

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup/170 grams unsalted butter (1½ sticks), melted and cooled

For the Lemon Layer

1 cup/200 grams granulated sugar

¼ cup/30 grams all-purpose flour

⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt

3 large eggs, at room temperature

Powdered sugar (optional)

Start preparing the cranberry layer: Combine the cranberries, sugar and 3 tablespoons water in a medium saucepan. Zest 2 of the lemons directly into the saucepan; reserve the lemons.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Continue boiling, stirring occasionally, until the berries burst and the mixture is jammy, 7 to 9 minutes. Remove from the heat and reserve.

Make the crust: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with one large sheet of heavy aluminum foil, making sure there are no gaps or holes, then generously coat with cooking spray.

Whisk the flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk the vanilla into the butter, then pour over the flour mixture. Stir until the dough comes together in a mass. Press into an even layer in the prepared pan. Bake until golden brown around the edges and dry and golden on top, 17 to 20 minutes.

While the crust bakes, begin preparing the lemon layer: Squeeze the juice from the 2 reserved zested lemons. You should have ½ cup. Squeeze the juice from another lemon, if needed.

Whisk the sugar, flour and salt in a medium bowl. Add the eggs and whisk gently just until incorporated. Add the lemon juice and stir gently with the whisk just until smooth.

Let the crust cool for 5 minutes, then spread the cranberry mixture evenly over the crust. Carefully and slowly pour the lemon mixture on top to create two distinct layers.

Return the pan to the oven and bake until the filling is set, 18 to 22 minutes. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack, then refrigerate until cold and firm, at least 2 hours. Using the foil, slide the bars out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Cut into 24 squares, wiping your knife between cuts for clean slices. If desired, sift powdered sugar over the tops just before serving.

TIP: After the berries had begun to pop, I used an immersion blender to purée the cranberry sauce and cooked in on simmer for approximately 30 minutes until it was very think and jammy. Spread the cranberry sauce over the baked crust an allowed it to cool for 15-20 mins before pouring the lemon custard on top. This resulted in attractive, distinct layers of fruit when the bars were sliced.

Agree with others who said this recipe was poorly worded. The ingredients for filling section should be divided into two distinct parts, or at least have the sugar amount say “divided” so you don’t dump all the sugar into the cranberry sauce and leave none for the lemon layer! For the distinct layers to form, 1) cook the cranberry sauce down until it’s completely smooth and the cranberries are no longer intact berries (30 min). 2) also consider doubling the lemon layer - not enough to cover!

I made this in an 8x8 glass Pyrex baking dish. I would absolutely recommend. I kept all of the same measurements and it resulted in a beautiful thick crust, a moderate but incredibly flavorful cranberry layer, and a thick (I estimate about 2/3 inch thick) lemon layer. The flavor is on point. The baking process is simple.

The only thing that changed for me (because of the smaller glass baking dish) was the cooking time. I baked it for a total of 30 minutes before the center set.

I made these with two tweaks based on comments and they turned out beautiful and delicious, with distinctive layers. Very successful.

1. I added 50 percent more to the lemon layer

2. I used the immersion blender on the cranberry layer so it was smoother.

Cranberry filling

1 12ounce (340gram) bag of fresh or frozen cranberries

3/4Cup granulated sugar

3 Tablespoons water

The zest of two lemons

Crust-you probably only need 1 ¼ recipe but it isn’t easy to translate into measurable amounts without a scale. Use just enough for a thin but adequate crust layer

2 ¼ Cups all purpose flour

½ Cup granulated sugar

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

2 ¼ Cups melted butter

Lemon filling

1 cup lemon juice

½ Cup flour

¼ teaspoon salt

2cups sugar

6 eggs