Cranberry Shortbread Bars

Although the holiday season is over, I’m not quite ready to give up the cranberries! Tart fruits have always been a favorite treat of mine in any form – fresh and eaten solo, as a topping, or baked into a dessert. When I was little, I used to asked for everyone’s lemons at the table and eat them! For birthdays, my siblings were all about the confetti cake but on my birthday, lemon meringue pie and lemon bars were served. I like to think of these as the winter version of lemon bars – tart, fruity, and just right.

Here’s What You’ll Need:

• 1 ½ cups Almond Flour
• ¼ cup plus 1 TBS Coconut Flour
• ¼ cup plus 1 TBS Tapioca Flour
• ½ tsp Baking Soda
• ¼ cup Coconut Oil
• ¼ cup Agave
• Pinch of Salt
• 2 Navel Oranges (you will need enough for ¾ cup fresh orange juice)
• 12 oz. Fresh Cranberries
• ½ cup Maple Syrup (more for sweeter bars)
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• ½ tsp Nutmeg
• ¼ tsp Ginger
  

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease bottom of 8×8 glass baking dish and line with parchment.
2. Combine almond flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, agave, and salt using a mixer on medium speed or food processor.
3. Scoop shortbread mixture into parchment-lined baking dish. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to compact the mixture until evenly spread across the bottom of the dish. Use a fork to poke holes in the crust dough.
4. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes.
5. Combine cranberries, zest from orange (about 1 TBS), freshly squeezed orange juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in a medium sauce pan. Stir and bring to a boil. Allow the cranberry topping to boil for 10-15 minutes, stirring periodically.
6. Remove cranberries from heat and allow to cool.
7. Remove shortbread crust from oven and allow to cool.
8. Once both the cranberries and shortbread crust have cooled completely, evenly spread cranberry filling over shortbread crust using the back of a spoon. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
9. Serve chilled, cut into squares.