I developed these cranberry white chocolate crumb bars because I had leftover cranberry sauce at thanksgiving, but they were such a hit that I’ve made them several times since! They come together really quickly, and the tart cranberry sauce paired with the sweet white chocolate and buttery crust makes for the perfect bite. These are also festive in appearance, which makes them a great holiday treat!
Note that you can make the cranberry sauce yourself (I highly recommend this), you can use store bought cranberry sauce, or you can swap this out for any jam you like best.
Ingredients for cranberry white chocolate crumb bars:
- 2 sticks salted butter at room temp
- 1 egg yolk at room temp
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- About 1 cup cranberry sauce (make from 8oz fresh cranberries, juice and zest of an orange, and 1/3 cup sugar)
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
If you’re making the cranberry sauce, add fresh cranberries, juice and zest from an orange, and 1/3 cup sugar together into a small saucepan. Stir the mixture together with a spatula to make sure that the juice, zest, and sugar evenly coat the cranberries and that everything is distributed well. Cook over medium heat, stirring every couple of minutes to ensure that nothing burns. You want to cook down the cranberries to release the juice and pectin. This is what creates the jam consistency. Continue cooking until all of the cranberries have popped and you have a nice jam-like consistency. The cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools, so it can be a touch thinner than you think it should be. This will take about 10 minutes.
Once the cranberry sauce is done, place it in a bowl to cool down.
Next, cream butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and egg yolk together until it is light and fluffy. Then add flour in two batches to make the shortbread. The shortbread will be slightly crumbly, but should hold together if you squeeze it in your hand.
Line a quarter sheet pan (I use calphalon’s 9×13 sheet pan) with parchment paper, and press 2/3 of dough into an even layer in bottom of the pan.
Once you have the shortbread spread out as a base, spread cranberry sauce in an even layer over the top of it. Next sprinkle with white chocolate chips and sliced almonds.
Crumble remaining shortbread dough over the top and press down lightly to make sure that it all sticks to the cranberry sauce.
Bake the cranberry white chocolate crumb bars for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees until crumble topping is slightly golden. Let cool completely then cut into 30 squares. For reference, I make 4 slices down the short side to make 5 bars, then 5 slices down the long side to make 6 bars. These cranberry white chocolate crumb bars hold up and slice best when they are completely cool. Store them covered in the fridge for up to a week. Enjoy!