Crunchy Cranberry Bars!
Temperatures are coming down, jackets are being brought out of storage, and every foodie’s favorite holiday is quickly approaching: Thanksgiving!
Now, we could just give you a standard cranberry sauce recipe and call it a day (and we’ve some delicious options for cranberry sauce coming up that are anything but standard,) but today we’ve gone in a different direction.
Why should the cranberry be relegated to just Thanksgiving day in the form of a sauce?
We went to our culinary drawing board and have come up with Cranberry Crunch Bars that are not only delicious, but they are a healthy option to store-bought granola bars and other sugary snacks. (Probably much needed right now as the Halloween candy is most likely being finished up.)
Ingredients
- olive oil cooking spray
- 9 graham crackers broken
- 3/4 cup almonds toasted & chopped
- 1/2 cup sugar + 3 tbsp
- 5 tbsb unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 cups fresh HBF cranberries
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes broken if large
- 1 1/2 oz chocolate chips about 1/4 cup
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Line bottom and sides with parchment; spray again.
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Place graham crackers, ¼ cup of the almonds and 3 tablespoons of the sugar in a food processor until finely ground. Pulse in butter until fine crumbs form. Press into an even layer in pan. Bake until edges are golden brown and center is dry, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
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Combine cranberries, orange juice and remaining ½ cup sugar in a small pan; bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil, stirring occasionally, until mixture has reduced to 1 cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Spread evenly over crust. Sprinkle coconut and remaining ½ cup almonds on top; gently press into cranberry mixture. Scatter chocolate over top; press in. (If you want a healthier option, the chocolate is optional.)
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Bake until filling is gently bubbling and coconut is golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Lift out of pan using parchment. Cut into 16 squares.