Thursday, November 11, 2010

Cranberry Bars and Two Great Giveaways!


I have been making cranberry bars for years, sometimes at Thanksgiving and sometimes at Christmas. I love the creamy, lemony middle topped by the cranberries.  They whip up fast  -- don't let the four layers scare you. 

See below for two great giveaways I have found in blogland.

From my Veteran's Day Tablescape.


Recipe for Cranberry Bars

1st Layer
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1-1/2 cups oats
1 cup butter, softenened.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  With mixer, beat flour, oats, brown sugar and butter until crumbly.  Set aside 1-1/2 cups of mixture to top bars with in 4th layer, then press remaining mixture on the bottom of  a greased 9 x 13-inch baking pan.  Bake 15 mintues or until lightly browned. 

2nd Layer
1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice -- reconstituted is fine for this recipe

With mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy.  Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth, stir in lemon juice.  Spread over the baked crust (first layer).

Third Layer

1 (16-ounce) whole berry cranberry sauce
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Combine cranberry sauce, corn starch and brown sugar.  Spoon over cheese layer.

Fourth Layer

Top third layer with reserved crumb mixture.  Bake about 45 minutes or until golden.  Watch carefully and do not overbake.  Cool and cut into bars.  

Refrigerate leftovers.  You can serve warm with ice cream.  I like the flavor of them best the next day after baking.  I think this may have been a Kraft recipe; I am not sure.


Here are two GREAT giveaways I found in blogland!



Click HERE to be directed to Our Family Treat's Nordicware Giveaway.  I am a huge fan of their seasonal pans.



 Click HERE to be directed to a giveaway, sponsored by Bringing Peace into the Home, of the print "Be It Unto Me" of Liz Lemon Swindle.  She is giving away five of these prints.  Wouldn't you love to have one in your home this Christmas?

Thanksgiving Challenge


Today, I am simply thankful for central heating.  It was cold yesterday and it was the first time we turned on the heat this season.  How convenient, and luxurious, it is to just flip a switch and there is lovely heat surrounding you in minutes!  I have lived in a home, where for economy's sake, that we heated mainly by a woodstove.  I didn't enjoy building a fire, stoking the fire, and taking care of the ashes.  Heat is just something we take for granted!

Posted With the Following:
Days of Thanksgiving Holiday Party, I'm Lovin' It, Feature Yourself Friday, Foodie Friday, Tickled Pink, Weekend Wrapup

29 comments:

Kelly Massman said...

Those cranberry bars look delicious!

Pondside said...

I'll definitely be making the bars - love cranberries, and we have great local cranberry farms.

Anonymous said...

oh yummy, I could bite into that about now!!

anne

Carol at Serendipity said...

I will be making these for sure!!! Thanks for sharing.

Carol

adrienzgirl said...

Um...yummy! I love cranberry, and lemon! I am printing this page off!!!

Holly said...

I'm gonna have to give these a try;) They sound delish!!

Julie Harward said...

Thanks for sharing...this is something I would really love! :D

Sue said...

Joni, These layered cranberry bars look fantastic, especially with the lemon added! I have a huge bag of fresh cranberries from Costco that I need to use:)

Sandra said...

I love cranberries and that dessert looks delicious...I am going to try this one for sure!

Heather S-G said...

Oh my gawsh, those bars look amazing! Perfect for the season, I'm saving the recipe in hopes that I'll actually try them :D

Michelle said...

Oh boy! I love cranberry! Look so good!

La said...

These sounds delicious. Anything with cream cheese has got to be good! La

Lynn said...

Joni, these bars sound great! I might take some to the office, just need to pick up whole cranberry sauce I have everything else on hand-thanks:@)

Renée said...

Joni, thanks for this luscious recipe. I make a very similar pumpkin crumble bar, but I like the idea of tangy cranberry with the creamy layer. I'm going to try them soon!

Marigene said...

Those bars sound delectable, thanks for sharing the recipe...they will be on our Thanksgiving menu.

Love the Decor! said...

These have me drooling once again : )
Gotta copy this one. Hubby will love it!!

Charisse said...

Those bars look amazing! I love the crumbly topping! YUMMY!

Entertaining Women said...

I am so making the Cranberry Bars...they sound wonderful! I'm going to fix them for the Garden Friends when we gather for Bible study next week. Thank you for sharing the recipe and for stopping by my post. Come visit any time. Cherry Kay

Jacqueline said...

Did you save me some? I don't think I have ever had these. They sound delish! I will be hungry this weekend if you are around, actually I am hungry right now!

Make the pumpkin beer for your family for Thanksgiving! They will have another thing they will expect from you for Thanksgiving dinner each year!

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

Oh, oh. I hoped you saved some for your sister :)

They some delicious, Joni! I love the sound of the lemon and cranberry flavors combined! I'm grabbing a copy of this recipe. Thank you!

chris said...

These look scandalously delicious!

Jane said...

I cannot wait to try these. I love cranberries...in all forms.
Jane (artfully graced)

Teresa said...

Cranberry Bars are one of my seasonal favorites but I've never seen a recipe for them. Will have to give this a try. Thanks and Happy Foodie Friday.

Cathy said...

I like your recipe so much better than the one I've been using, Joni. That cream cheese layer looks scrumptious and I would love the lemon with the cranberries. Bookmarked!

Debbi Does Dinner Healthy said...

These look so good! I'm saving this for sure! Thanks!

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Cranberries everywhere and I am so loving it! Your recipe looks delicious. Going to copy the recipe :)

Val said...

These look divine.

Kathleen said...

They look delicious, and the pear cake too!

Holly Lefevre said...

I think I need to quit reading blogs...I was doing so well on my new approach to eating and now...oh my the goodness abounds!

Engageya