Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars
Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars have a sweet cookie bottom and top with cream cheese and tart cranberries for the filling and feature an orange icing drizzled over top.
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Servings: 24 bars
Calories: 268kcal
Ingredients
Crust
- 3 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup butter
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Filling
- 12 ounces cream cheese
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- zest from 1 orange
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups chopped cranberries
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons orange juice
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan
- Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt together and set aside.
- In a large bowl cream together butter, brown sugar, and sugar with an electric mixer.
- Add the eggs and beat them in. Mix in the vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture and mix in until well blended
- Reserve 1 1/4 cups of the dough for the top of the bars. Pat the remaining dough into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Place in the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes.
- While the bars are baking prepare the filling.
- Place the room temperature cream cheese in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and beat until well blended.
- Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix in. Mix eggs one at a time beating on low just until blended.
- Add the cranberries and orange zest and fold in.
- Once the bars have baked for 10 minutes remove them from the oven. Spread the filling over the crust. Crumble and sprinkle the reserving dough over the top of the filling.
- Place back in the oven and bake for another 30 to 35 minutes until the cream cheese is set and the top of the bars are brown.
- Remove from the oven and cool slightly on a cooling rack.
- While the bars are cooling make the icing. Add the powdered sugar to a bowl and gradually add the orange juice until the correct consistency. Beat until smooth. Drizzle over the warm bars.
Notes
- The ingredients should be room temperature.
- If you don't have an orange for this recipe you can substitute a lemon.
- I recommend fresh cranberries for the recipe, but if you have frozen cranberries they can be used.
- Roughly chop the cranberries with a sharp knife or a food processor.
- Store these bars in the refrigerator. Since there is a cream cheese filling this is the safest way to store the bars. You can keep this in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
- If you like these bars freeze well. Make sure to use an airtight freezer container.
Nutrition
Calories: 268kcal | Carbohydrates: 35.1g | Fat: 12.7g | Saturated Fat: 7.7g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 201mg | Potassium: 79mg | Fiber: 0.8g | Sugar: 22g | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 1mg