Cranberry Shortbread Bars

By Addie

Look at the lovely confection our Test Kitchen came up with when it combined cranberries, coconut and white chocolate! Colorful and tasty, these bars and a glass of milk make the perfect treat after a dusty afternoon of raking leaves. TIP: Wrapped in colored cellophane and ribbons, Cranberry Shortbread Bars are pretty enough to double as quick holiday gifts, don’t you think?

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup flaked coconut
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 package (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 cup unsweetened apple juice
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 ounces white baking chocolate, melted

Preparation

Step 1

In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg. Combine the flour, coconut and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Set aside 1 cup for topping. Spread remaining mixture into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Bake at 425° for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the sugars and cornstarch. Stir in cranberries and apple juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook and stir for 5 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in walnuts.

Spread over crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. Drizzle with white chocolate. Cut into bars. Yield: 2 dozen.
.........................

REVIEWS:

The crust burned on these bars, and the filling baked quicker than the amount of time listed on the recipe and got overdone around the edges. I used a metal cake pan. Perhaps using a glass casserole dish would prevent burning. Any suggestions?

excellent bar in presentation as well as taste! I did make a few adjustments- instead of 1 cup of walnuts, I used 1/2 cup and added 1 tsp. ground cinnamon to the sugar-applesauce mixture to cook on the stovetop. I also reduced the oven temp. to 400 degrees. These are delicious!

Just the right amount of sweet / tart. These were so good, I skipped the walnuts for taste preference, but they weren't really needed.