Cranberry Bars

• Produce

  • 1 Orange, Zest from medium

• Refrigerated

  • 2 Eggs

• Baking & Spices

  • 1 1/2 cups All-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp Baking powder
  • 1 1/2 cups Granulated sugar
  • 1 Powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract, pure

• Nuts & Seeds

  • 1/2 cup Pecans or walnuts

• Dairy

  • 1/2 cup Butter

• Other

  • 2 cups Cranberries (fresh or frozen. i used frozen

Found on stuckonsweet.com

Description

Ingredients

• 2 eggs, room temperature
• ½ cup butter, room temperature (salted or unsalted is fine)
• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Zest from one medium orange (optional)
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
• 2 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen. I used frozen)
• Powdered sugar (for dusting. also optional)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 inch pan. You can also line the pan with parchment paper or tinfoil. if you use tinfoil, grease it well. This will make it easier to pull the bars out of the pan and cut.
• Using a mixer, beat together the granulated sugar, butter and orange zest (if using), until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until mixed nicely, scraping down sides of bowel as necessary.
• Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the nuts and cranberries.
• Pour into prepared pan - the dough is sticky so grease your hands and press it down as best as you can so it covers the entire pan. If its not perfect, dont worry, it will bake together nicely.
• Bake for 40-50 minutes. Mine baked for 45 minutes. The edges will be light brown and the top will have spots of light brown. Cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar and cutting.