These Cranberry Lemon Bars are a delicious and refreshing dessert perfect for any occasion. They are made with a buttery shortbread crust, a tangy cranberry layer, then a creamy lemon mixture, and finished off with a light dusting of powdered sugar. It's a festive dessert that everyone will love.
Jump to:
Save this recipe by clicking on the ❤️ heart on the right-hand side of the screen or in the recipe card.
My Cranberry Lemon Bars are a Must Try!
I absolutely love the sweet and tart balance that these bars bring to any dessert table. Their bright and vibrant layers make any day feel special.
What I appreciate most is how wonderfully simple they are to make, allowing me to prepare them ahead of time without stress. Their cheerful red and yellow colors bring me so much joy, making this twist on a classic my go-to dessert for sharing.
Cranberry Lemon Bars Ingredients
Pro Tip
Fresh cranberries work best for this recipe. You can use frozen in a pinch, however you will need to thaw them first. Fresh lemon juice is definitely the way to go in this recipe. It adds a bright and tangy flavor to these sweet bars.
Cranberry Lemon Bars
Ingredients
Cranberry layer
- 3 ½ cups cranberries 12 oz bag
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Shortbread Crust
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest 1 large lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup 1 ½ sticksunsalted butter, melted
Lemon layer
- 5 large eggs room temperature
- 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
- 5 Tablespoons flour scoop and level method
- ¾ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice. 3-4 lemons
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
- Powdered sugar optional for dusting
Instructions
Prep:
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spray a 9x9 inch with non-stick cooking spray. Line the pan with parchment paper (over the non-stick cooking spray) being sure the parchment goes up along the sides of the pan.
- Cranberry layer
- In a large saucepan over medium heat on the stove, add the cranberries, water, sugar and salt.
- Once the cranberries start to pop and the water boils, about 1-2 minutes, turn the heat down to medium low and stir often. It’s best not to leave the stove at this point. The cranberries should break down and have the consistency of jam. About 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool while you make the crust.
Shortbread crust
- Mix the flour, salt, sugar and lemon zest in a bowl. Whisk together.
- Add the vanilla extract into the melted butter. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
- Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, mix until combined. Check there are no clumps of the dry mixture. The dough should have a crumbly texture.
- Press the dough into your prepared baking dish using your finger tips. Being sure to get every corner and the dough is an even layer. You may want to use a measuring cup to press the dough firmly into the pan.
- Using the tines of a fork, randomly poke holes into the shortbread.
- Bake at 350°F for 18-20 minutes or until slightly golden brown on the edges.
- Once done, let it cool for about 30 minutes in the pan.
Lemon Layer
- While the crust is cooling, in a medium bowl, lightly whisk the eggs and pour in lemon juice.
- In a separate bowl whisk the dry ingredients, the flour, zest, sugar and salt.
- Combine the dry ingredients into the eggs and mix until combined. Try not to over mix.
- Run the lemon mixture through a mesh strainer to remove any flour clumps.
Assemble bars
- Spoon the cranberry layer on top of the shortbread crust, spreading evenly across the baking pan. Use the back of a spoon to push the cranberries into every crevice and against the wall of the pan.
- Slowly pour the lemon layer over the cranberries. Pour into the center and it will spread out to all sides of the pan. It’s very important to pour slowly so it doesn’t cause the cranberries to rise to the top, mixing with the lemon layer. This will keep the three distinct layers. If it mixes a little bit, it will still taste delicious.
- Bake in the center of your oven for 350°F for 35 - 40 minutes. The edges should be slightly brown, firm and the center may jiggle a tiny bit, but it will firm up as it cools.
- Leave the pan on your stove top for 30 to 60 minutes to cool.
- When ready to serve, draw a line with a knife between the parchment paper and the wall of the pan to cut through any lemon batter that may have leaked out. Now you should be able to lift the parchment paper with bars out of the pan and place on the cutting board. Peel back the parchment paper and cut into squares. Depending on the size of your squares you cut, you should get either 12 or 16 bars.
Notes
Powdered sugar is optional but it is a great way to cover any of the lemon curd mixture that may have cracked or any cranberries that have risen into the lemon layer. It also looks really pretty and festive.
How to make Cranberry Lemon Bars
1- In a large saucepan over medium heat, add the cranberries, water, sugar, and salt. Once the cranberries start to pop and the water boils about 1-2 minutes, turn the heat down to medium-low and stir often. It’s best not to leave the stove at this point. The cranberries should break down and have the consistency of jam.
Let it cool down and mash lightly with a potato masher if desired.
2- Now let's make the crust. Begin by mixing the flour, salt, sugar, and lemon zest in a bowl, whisking them together to combine. In a separate bowl, add the vanilla extract to the melted butter. Pour these combined wet ingredients into the dry mixture.
Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, mix until everything is fully incorporated, ensuring there are no remaining clumps of dry flour. The resulting dough should have a crumbly texture. Press dough firmly into a square baking dish, poke holes with a fork, and bake. Once baked, allow it to cool for about 30 minutes before proceeding.
3- While the crust is cooling, in a medium bowl, lightly whisk the eggs and pour in lemon juice.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, lemon zest, sugar, and salt. Once combined, add this mixture to the eggs, mixing gently until just incorporated.
4- Spoon the cranberry layer over the cooled crust, spreading it into an even layer across the entire baking pan. Use the back of a spoon to gently press the cranberry mixture into every crevice of the crust and against the walls of the pan to ensure a uniform layer.
Next, slowly pour the lemon layer over the cranberries, starting in the center of the pan and allowing it to naturally flow outward to all sides. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Once baked, allow the dessert to cool completely in the pan before serving.
Recipe tips
- Allow the cranberry mixture to cool a little before pouringit on top of the crust so that it doesn't melt the crust.
- Don't forget the parchment paper on the bottom of your baking dish. This will give you an easy way to remove the bars from the pan.
- During the testing of this recipe, I learned that this recipe needs fresh lemon juice, the bottled kind will not work for it.
- I like to use a sharp knife that has been run under warm water and then wiped off to get clean slices of this dessert.
FAQs
To keep the lemon and cranberry layers separate, use a gentle hand when you spread the lemon layer so that you don't mix the two layers.
If your lemon bars have a layer of bubbles on top, it could be due to beating the lemon filling too vigorously or over-baking them. To prevent this, beat the filling gently and make sure to bake for only the recommended time.
One of the reasons that I love to make these bar cookies for the holidays is that they are great when made ahead. I can make them the night before I need them so I can spend less time in the kitchen the day of.
Refrigerate - Store the bars in the fridge tightly covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container to keep them fresh for up to three days.
Freeze - You can also freeze the bars for up to two months. Just wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and then place them in a freezer-safe container. To thaw, simply leave them out on the counter for a few hours or overnight in the fridge before serving again.
If you want to add a little extra flavor to your cranberry lemon squares you can fold some white chocolate chips into the cranberry layer before you assemble the bars.
You can also leave the powdered sugar off the top of these lemon cranberry bars and drizzle them with melted white chocolate instead.
You May Also Like
I can't wait until you try this - it's such a lovely dessert! If you love it, tell me about it and leave a five-star rating below!
Would you like to save this post?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Leave a Reply