Vegan Cranberry Shortbread Bars
Like a lemon bar, but more festive- these cranberry shortbread bars have a chewy shortbread cookie base, and a tart, sweet, and creamy cranberry top. They’re that perfect combination of sweet and tart, while still being silky smooth and stunningly beautiful. If you’re a cranberry fan, or just a dessert fan, you can’t go wrong!
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It’s the Most Cranberry Time of the Year
Here in Massachusetts, we grow a lot of cranberries- in fact, they are a native fruit to the region, and even our official state fruit. Go cranberries! My home state produces almost 1/4 of the US cranberries, which is a lot for such a small state. Cranberries are harvested September-November, making them fresh and seasonal around Thanksgiving and Christmas time. We tend to only eat them in winter, but honestly, they’re delicious all year round- and they freeze well so stock up when they go on sale! They grow low to the ground, and can be found growing wild in New England- I’ve foraged a few tasty trailside snacks this way! There is a common misconception that cranberries grow in the water, but that’s not the case. Instead, about 90 percent of cranberries are harvested in water. The cranberry bogs are flooded, and a machine goes through, loosening the berries which float to the surface and can be easily scooped up. This leads to some bruised and damaged looking berries, which are sent to factories to be processed into juice, sauce, dried and more. Where you won’t find these cranberries are fresh on your grocery store shelf. In order to get those perfect, bright, shiny, blemish-free berries, farmers have to dry pick their fruit. Smaller producers might use combed scoops, but larger operations will employ some more machinery to get the job done.
Because cranberries are tart, they are often cooked with sugar. I do like snacking on them raw, but I really don’t want more than a small handful without a little help from some sweetener. They do very well in sweetened sauce and baked goods, but are also delicious roasted and in salads. The beautiful little cranberry has also been given the title of “superfood”, because it is so densely packed with nutrients. They contain a generous amount of vitamins C, A, K, and E (as well as some of the B vitamins), as well as a good amount of manganese, copper, and antioxidants. And most importantly, they taste delicious, and make every dish feel a little more festive. So let’s enjoy the most cranberry time of the year together, and maybe even work to extend that season into the new year!
Looking for Vegan Holiday Cookies? Try one of these!
It’s holiday baking season! As the weather gets chilly and the days get short, it’s the perfect time of year to warm up the house with the delicious smells of baking wafting from the kitchen. Not only is the oven adding a little heat to warm up the house, but the very act of baking seems to put me in a better mood. Plus, it’s always a good idea to have some cookies on hand, for snacking and sharing.
- Cardamom Hazelnut Vegan Snowball Cookies
- Thanks USPS! Spicy Chocolate Cookies
- The Ultimate Vegan Christmas Cookie- Vegan Spruce Sugar Cookies
- 5-Ingredient Vegan Banana Peanut Butter Cookies
- Molasses, Ginger and Oat Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies
- Almond Rosehip Shortbread Cookies
Looking for Vegan Cranberry Recipes? Try one of these!
- Rosehip Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce
- Vegan Cranberry Banana Bread
- Chocolate Coated Cranberry Wood Ear Mushrooms
- Cranberry Lima Bean Thanksgiving Salad
How to Make Cranberry Shortbread Bars
These cranberry shortbread bars have two layers- the shortbread cookie base, and the smooth cranberry jelly top. Start with the shortbread cookies.
- To make the shortbread cookies, you only need sugar, vegan butter, flour, and a little vanilla extract. A stand mixer is the best way to get the job done. Combine the sugar and butter first, until it’s well integrated and fluffy. For the best results, you’re also going to want to chill your dough to get the best textured cookie base. Make sure you line your pan in parchment paper before you bake, or else it will be much harder to get out neatly. Press the dough into a smooth layer, bake, and then allow to chill.
- For the cranberry layer, we’re basically going to make a smooth cranberry sauce, but creamier. For your “cream” element, you have choices. My favorite option was to use a vegan eggnog, as it adds a lot of creaminess, some sweetness, and all those holiday spices. I’ve also really enjoyed using different vegan coffee creamers, as there are so many options these days. I tried both a caramel flavor and a pumpkin spice in these bars, and both were delicious. If you’d rather keep it simple and less sweetened, some good old fashioned full fat coconut milk will work too. Back to the cooking- the cranberries need to be first softened, before being blended and strained to make it perfectly smooth. After that it’s thickened with cornstarch and reduced a little before pouring over the top of the cookie layer and cooling it until it sets.
A few tips- if you want to decorate with powdered sugar as I did in some of the pictures, do that right before you serve otherwise it has the tendency to bleed. These bars are also best eaten quickly- they will get a little soft if you wait too long. And honestly, they’re tasty enough that you shouldn’t have any issues with that!
Vegan Cranberry Shortbread Bars
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup vegan butter
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- For the Cranberry Top
- 1 ½ cups fresh cranberries
- ¼ cup apple juice
- ½ cup vegan eggnog, coffee creamer, or coconut milk
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp. cornstarch
Instructions
- Start with the cookie base. Combine the vegan butter and 1/3 cup granulated sugar in a stand mixer, and mix until smooth. Add the all-purpose flour and vanilla extract, and slowly mix the flour in, scraping down the sides as needed. Once a dough has formed, remove from the bowl and form into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap, and place in the fridge to chill for about an hour.
- After about an hour, preheat your oven to 325°F (160°C). Line an 8x8 inch baking pan with parchment paper to make removing the bars later easier. Press the dough into the lined pan to create a thin, even layer of the dough. Bake for 30 minutes, and then remove from the oven. Once it’s cooler, place in the freezer to cool quickly.
- Add the cranberries and apple juice to a small pot. Bring to a simmer, and cook for around 5 minutes, until the cranberries have softened. Add the vegan eggnog, coffee creamer, or coconut milk, and blend using an immersion blender or regular blender. Strain through a mesh strainer, and return to the pot. Bring the liquid to a simmer, and add the sugar and cornstarch. It can be easier to incorporate the cornstarch if you use your immersion blender to mix the cornstarch in. Cook for another 5 or so minutes, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom so that it doesn’t burn and it all thickens. Remove from the heat, let it cool down a couple minutes, and then pour over the cookie base. Use a silicone spatula to smooth into an even layer.
- Let the bars cool in the fridge for several hours. Once cooled, cut, slice and enjoy! If you do plan on decorating with icing sugar, do so right before serving as it may result in the bars “bleeding” a little. Store bars in the fridge, and eat as soon as possible for the tastiest results.
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Oh my gosh I cannot wait to make these! They look incredible and the pic has me drooling and wishing for all the cranberry goodies now. I grew up in Vermont but moved to Scotland when I got married. I miss the wild cranberries I used to forage when out walking! Over here cranberries are imported and are only available fresh for about 2 weeks in the run up to Christmas and available frozen until about mid January . The second they become available, I stock up.
While they do not celebrate Thanksgiving here, I always have a big Thanksgiving-ish dinner the weekend before or the weekend after as it is too much work to try and pull together after work on the actual day. But these are something I can do for the actual Thursday of Thanksgiving to embrace my homeland’s festivities, thank you. 😍 Mixed with the British/Scottish cuppa on the side for hubby and it will be perfect. I have one bag of cranberries left and so will wait for next month to give it a try, using frozen instead of fresh berries.
Sadly we do not get the eggnog or creamers over here, so coconut milk it is. I was home last month and wow all the various vegan creamers on option were amazing! But a ps it was not close to the holidays there was no vegan eggnog. If you ever playing around with recipes, a homemade vegan egg nog recipe would be much appreciated . One from a New Englander who knows a good nog would be so great, as the very few I have come across that were vegan were awful and left a horrible after taste.
Thanks, once again, for this recipe, I look forward to trying it! 💚
Cranberries are such a great Fall food- as a fellow New Englander, I can relate! I’ve never actually picked wild cranberries to bring home, but I’ve often enjoyed some as a trail-side snack. On the plus side, cranberries do freeze well.
I love the idea of using a dessert like these to celebrate Thanksgiving- and having it with tea seems like a great blending of cultures! I’ll put some thought into the eggnog front- I have found that most of the ones I’ve bought in stores have been a bit on the sweet side.
Hope you enjoy, and thanks for the comment!