Cranberry Orange Cream Cheese Crumb Bars
Just kidding about the candy canes. But they do hurt the roof of my mouth when the break. It's like eating SHARDS OF GLASS.
Aaaaanyways, being allergic to Christmas and everything, you guys probably think I'm the spawn of Ebeneezer Scrooge or something. And you would be right. You know I work for my Dad? Well, at work, I literally warm my hands by a candle. True story.
I really do love Christmas though. And you know what else I love? Cranberries. Cranberry juice, cranberry relish, cranberry cookies... you name it. I never baked anything with fresh cranberries before though, so that's why I created these. They turned out really awesome. They're really good cold cause they get all chewy and delish. They're the perfect combination of sweet and tart. Call it a coffee cake and have it for breakfast. Call it an energy bar and have it for lunch. Call it a casserole and have it for dinner. Oh yeah.
Cranberry Orange Cream Cheese Crumb Bars
For the Crust:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
For the Cranberry layer:
2 cups cranberries
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 tablespoon corn starch
For the Cream Cheese Layer:
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
Preheat the oven to 375ยบ. Grease an 8x8 inch pan. Mix together all the crust ingredients with a fork until crumbly. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of the pan.
Mix together all the ingredients for the cranberry layer and spread evenly on top of the crust.
Mix together all of the ingredients cream cheese layer. Dollop the cream cheese mixture on top of the cranberries and spread evenly across the top with a spoon or a knife. Crumble the rest of the crust on top.
Bake for 35 minutes. Keep in the fridge.
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