Cranberry - Orange Crumb Bars

After many months in the box, I finally took out my birthday present from my hubby. Today was the day that I graduated from the minor leagues to the majors. I went from using my long time cherished friend, the Olympus “point and shoot” to what I call, my “big girl camera”. Back in June, my husband gave me a Sony a300 DSLR camera for my birthday. I guess with being so busy and use to my current photo taking habits, I did not get around to opening the box until today.

My hubby, who has done photography for a hundred years, was my personal teacher today. He went through the basics of the camera and how to take a basic photo. Today was lesson number one and I can hardly wait for lesson number two. Oh my gosh, what fun it was to hear that fast clicking noise and zooming in and out to grab the perfect photo. When I loaded the memory card to my computer and viewed the photos of the Cranberry - Orange Crumb Bars, I almost could not believe my eyes – the photos were so much more crisp, vivid and beautiful. So much more to learn, but I feel that I am now on my way.  Today is a great day!

Now onto these wonderful Cranberry – Orange Crumb Bars. You are probably thinking how does she have cranberries in August? Back in the late winter, I purchased three or four bags of fresh cranberries and froze them. I wanted to be able to enjoy these tart little nuggets year round. I saw a recipe on All Recipes for blueberry crumb bars and decided to make them my own. As you can see, the foundation is the same but the entire bar is unique. If you do not have frozen cranberries, try blueberries, blackberries or raspberries. They turned out beautifully and will be on my holiday treat list of things to make.

Cranberry – Orange Crumb Bars

Crumb Mixture
1 C. Sugar
1 C. Butter
1 t. Baking Powder
½ t. Salt
2 t. Vanilla
1 Egg
3 C. Flour
Zest of one orange

Filling
3 C. Fresh/Frozen Cranberries
1 T. Cornstarch
½ C. Sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

In an electric mixer, cream the butter together until smooth. Add the sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla and cream together. Then add the egg and beat until combined. Add the zest of the orange and mix. Slowly add the flour one cup at a time until combined. Mixture will be crumbly.

Use a 9 x 13 pan and spray with non-stick cooking spray. I use the Crisco one with flour and oil. Divide the mixture in half and spread the first half on the bottom of the pan. It will be thin.

In a medium bowl, add the cranberries and cornstarch together and combine. Spread over the pan with the pressed crumb mixture. Sprinkle the ½ cup of sugar over the entire pan. Take the remaining crumb mixture and sprinkle over the top, leaving small areas where there is no crumb topping.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool. Cut into desired sized pieces.