Easy Cranberry Shortbread Crumble Bars

Vegan cranberry shortbread bar being held up to the camera to show off the crumble topping and pretty cranberry filling.

5 from 3 votes

Easy Cranberry Shortbread Crumble Bars

Deliciously sweet and tart cranberry Shortbread Bars that are easy to eat, and a total crowd pleaser for Christmas or Thanksgiving as a treat or dessert.

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

Total Time45

Course: Afternoon Tea, Dessert

Cuisine: American, british

Diet: Vegan

Servings: pieces

Calories: 313kcal

Author: Louise-Claire Cayzer

Equipment

Ingredients

For the Shortbread and Crumble

310 g plain/AP flour
285 g vegan butter
90 g sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
pinch table salt
optional zest one orange

For the Cranberry Filling

300 g fresh or frozen cranberries
200 g sugar
60 ml orange juice

Metric - American

Instructions

Make the Cranberry Filling

First make the fresh cranberry sauce by combining the sugar, orange juice and cranberries in a small saucepan.
300 g fresh or frozen cranberries, 200 g sugar, 60 ml orange juice
Bring the cranberries to a roiling boil, then simmer on a medium heat for 5-7 minutes. They will pop, then the juice should evaporate leaving you with a loose cranberry jam. Remove from the heat and let it cool.

Make the Shortbread

Line your 23x 23 cm/9" baking tin with parchment paper
Put the flour, cold butter, vanilla, sugar, orange zest if using and salt into a food processor.
310 g plain/AP flour, 285 g vegan butter, 90 g sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, pinch table salt, optional zest one orange
Pulse the food processor a few times, until the mixture looks like chunky breadcrumbs.
Press about ¾ of the mixture (don't have to be too precise) into a lined baking 23x23 cm baking tin. CHILL the mixture (and leftover mixture) for 20 mins.
Preheat your oven to 180˚C (350˚F)
Spread the Cranberry filling over the shortbread in a fairly even layer.
Crumble the remaining shortbread dough over the top. (I sort of squish it up with my fingers and sprinkle it evenly over. )
Bake at 180˚C (350˚F) for about 20 mins, or until golden brown on top. Leave to cool completely before chopping into squares or bars.

Notes

🍓Substitutions & Variations

This recipe is so great because you can put pretty much any jam or even leftover cranberry sauce in the middle. Here are some ideas

Leftover Cranberry Sauce/Jelly: Use up what you have left. You could add a few fresh cranberries to pad out the cranberry layer if you wished.
Your favourite Jam or Jelly: My granny used to use homemade raspberry jam!
White Chocolate Chips: Cranberry and white chocolate are a lovely match. Sprinkle white chocolate chips over along with the extra crumble topping.
If the fruit isn't as tart as cranberries, eg strawberries, blueberries or raspberries, you could just use them fresh in place of the cranberry jelly.
Coconut Oil instead of Butter: Coconut Oil (or Copha in Australia) can be used in place of butter, however you need to work quickly as it melts at a lower temperature and is harder to work with.
Almond Extract: For a little extra pizzaz a few drops of almond extract would be delightful in the buttery shortbread crust!.
Lower Sugar: The fresh cranberry sauce has 1 cup of sugar in it, however you could reduce this by up to a half for less sugar.
Gluten Free: use gluten free flour OR 250g oat flour and 60g corn starch (cornflour) . I've tested both versions and I prefer the oat flour version, however both are delicious and work just as well.

To make without a food processor: Use a large mixing bowl and rub chunks of butter into the flour. You can use a fork or potato masher. The key is to work quickly to prevent the butter from melting, as that's what creates the crumbliest flaky shortbread.

Store the Vegan Cranberry Shortbread Squares in an airtight container for up to a week. You can freeze the bars then reheat gently, before letting cool completely and serving.

Nutrition