Are you over cranberry/orange yet? I hope not cause I am still smitten with the flavor combination and I am finally sharing my first cran-orange recipe with you. It also happens to be my first crumb bar recipe on the blog. Seriously, all these firsts... what have I been doing during my first year of blogging? Well, these cranberry orange crumb bars are well worth waiting for. These babies are a household favorite and are requested on a near daily basis.
These cranberry orange crumb bars are so tasty, my daughter made up a whole song about it. Nothing too fancy just something along the lines of "Ooooohhhhh crumb bars, crumb bars. I love yoouuu! Cranbuuury and orange. Cranbury and orange!" ...and then it usually rails off into something about princesses and dragons, but she doesn't sing about all her food, so it's saying something. That should totally be a thing. Song about food. I'd listen to an album dedicated to food. It reminds me of something the guy at Whose Line Is It Anyway would come up with when they do their Greatest Hits bit. Is that show still on? That show was the best. I loved Colin and Ryan and Greg. Oh my gosh. Did you see the episode where Richard Simmons was on the show? Best bit of comedy television ever.
I've been on a blogger cookbook buying binge lately and one of the books I recently bought was from Deb who writes Smitten Kitchen. I adore her blog and pretty much everything she does and when I saw her crumb bars, I had to make them! The only changes I made mix up the spices a bit more and amp up the orange flavor. They are the best crumb bars ever. With extra crumb cause that's how we roll in my house.
Make a double batch of these because they aren't going to last long at all. Trust me.
Cranberry Orange Crumb Bars
Ingredients
For the Crumb
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- zest of one orange
- 16 tablespoons 1 cup unsalted butter, cut in cubes and chilled
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoon orange juice
For the Filling
- 12 oz bag fresh cranberries
- zest from one orange
- 3 tablespoons orange juice
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang on two sides of the pan to create a sling. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
- In a food processor, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and orange zest together. Pulse once to twice to combine. Slowly add the butter a few tablespoons at a time, pulsing between additions, until the mixture resembles large crumbs. Add the egg and juice and pulse one or two times so the mixture looks like coarse meal.
- Place half the mixture in the baking pan and press down to create the base. Set aside.
- Clean out your food processor and add together all the ingredients for the filling and pulse a few times to mix and cut up the cranberries. You do not want it to reach the point where it becomes a puree, so take your time.
- Spread the filling over the base, then crumble on the remaining crumb mixture, lightly pressing down so it sticks to the filling. Bake for about 30 - 35 minutes, the top crumb should take on a very light golden color. Allow it to cool completely before cutting into bars. You can use the sling to remove the bars before or after cutting.
Nutmeg Nanny says
Cranberry and orange are my favorite flavor combination! These bars are so pretty!
Ashley | The Recipe Rebel says
There's always room for more cranberry and orange. I can totally see my daughter making up a song about them! Love!
Christina @ Bake with Christina says
Those bars look SO yummy! The colors look amazing and I bet they taste delicious! 🙂
Amanda says
They were the best! Deb really knows how to make an awesome crumb bar!
Amanda says
I could never be tired of cranberry and orange! These bars look delicious!!!
Amanda says
Thank you!!
Karissa | Sweet as a Cookie says
I've heard that good food is supposed to make you sing and dance so it sounds like this recipe is definitely amazing in your daughters eyes. These bars sound amazing! I'll have to give them a try!
Traci | Vanilla And Bean says
I'm still on board with cranberry orange... I was beginning to wonder if anyone else was! So happy to see these delicious bars! I have Deb's book and everything I've made from it has been delicious! I've not made these however, but neeeeed to posthaste! Your daughters song sounds lovely... a motivator to make these again and again! Thank you, Amanda!!
Amanda says
Yeah, I kind of feel like as soon as the holiday rush weans down, cranberry and orange gets ignored. I think it should be around much longer! I am sow ith you, I kind of want to just go through the entire book and make everything!
amanda @ fake ginger says
I've been buying blogger cookbooks like mad recently, too. It's just so fun!
These look so good! Cranberry orange is my favorite combo!
Amanda says
I know, I am obsessed with blogger cookbooks. So many of them have created such wonderful resources online and in their books. I only wish to be half as talented as some of them.
Melanie | Melanie Makes says
Love the looks of these bars - so pretty!
Amanda says
Thank you so much!
Jennifer | Bake or Break says
Cranberry and orange is such a great flavor combo! And I'm always excited about a crumb topping!
Amanda says
Crumb topping always makes things better, doesn't it?
Julie @ Willow Bird Baking says
I would TOTALLY sing for these gorgeous bars. And I'll never be over cranberry and orange. NEVER.
Jameson Fink says
I am not over now, nor will I ever be, cranberry/orange. Bring it on!
Amanda says
Yes! Cranberry & orange for life!
Kimberly Henricks says
I am definitely NOT over cranberry and orange ... it's one of my favorite flavor combinations ... and I go to it a lot! And I am definitely pinning your gorgeous crumb bars for later because of it!
Amanda says
Thank you so much for pinning! I agree, cranberry and orange rocks!
[email protected] says
These crumb bars look absolutely delicious and I love the combination of cranberries and orange!
Amanda says
Thank you! Cranberry and orange is one of my favorite classic flavor combos!
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious says
Those would last about a minute at my house. I would eat them for breakfast, too!
pam (sidewalk shoes) says
These sound wonderful!