Don’t the holidays just fly by!? We spent the weekend taking down Christmas decorations and holiday decor and it had me wishing that we could rewind a few weeks back and do it all again! And then I found this recipe, and that’s exactly what happened. It’s snowy outside and the fire is on and I took these out of the oven and the feeling of the holidays came right back 🙂
A good friend gave me The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook: Recipes and Wisdom from an Obsessive Home CookThe Smitten Kitchen Cookbook when I first moved and it immediately went on the shelf in the kitchen. From apps to dinner to dessert, the book has it all! It came to be especially handy when I was cleaning out the fridge and found an entire bag of fresh cranberries. I was racking my brain trying to figure out what to do with them and then voila, Deb Perelman had an answer in her book. These cranberry crumb bars have the mulling spices in them, which make them incredibly comforting and delicious. And as always, her recipes are so simple and straightforward!
Cranberry Crumb Bars with Mulling Spices
Crumb
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp cloves
- 1/8 allspice
- 2 sticks butter, chilled and cut into tablespoons
- 1 egg
Filling
- 1/2 tsp orange zest
- 1 1/2 tbs orange juice
- 3 cups fresh cranberries
- 1/3 cups sugar
- 1 tbs cornstarch
Mix dry crumb ingredients before adding chilled butter and egg. Then with a pastry blender or fork, work the butter and egg until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Divide mixture in half, and pat half of it in the bottom of a greased 9×13 pan.
In a food processor (I used a mini KitchenAid KFC3511OB 3.5-Cup Food Chopper – Onyx Black3.5 cup food processor and it fit perfectly!) pulse filling ingredients until berries are coarsely chopped, not pureed. Spread filling over base and then add remaining crumbs in an even layer.
Bake at 375F for 30-35 minutes. Enjoy!