Cranberry Orange Crumb Bars

We have been adding cranberries to many a thing this past month, pies, applesauce, you name it, as we love the tart, acidic punch they give. So, when we found a bag of fresh cranberries tucked in the back of the refrigerator, (probably from Thanksgiving) we experimented with our trusty crumb bar recipe. Playing off the classic combination of cranberries and orange and knowing that the cranberries would need a bit more sugar then lets say a mixed berry crumb bar,  we tweaked the recipe a bit and came up with this delicious cookie/bar. Its sweet, tart, and sort of feels like breakfast without the carb load of a big cran-orange muffin, not that we have anything against a good cran-orange muffin:) Try these before you forget that you love cranberries, and have to wait until next Thanksgiving to enjoy them!

Cranberry Orange Crumb Bars
Makes 16 bars

1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into cubes
zest of 1 orange
1 egg
2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons corn starch
juice of one orange
1/2 tsp. almond extract

Preheat oven to 375
 
Grease an 8’ inch cake or Pyrex baking dish.
 
In a medium bowl mix flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest. Then add in the cold butter and egg, cutting it in with a pastry cutter or fork.  You can also use your fingers to break up any large pieces of butter. Once the mixture resembles crumbs, press half into the pan.
 
In another bowl, add sugar, orange juice, cornstarch and almond extract and mix. Carefully stir in cranberries.
 
Spread fruit with juices evenly on top of dough and sprinkle with remaining dough. You want some fruit peeking out.
 
Bake 40-45 minutes until fruit is bubbling and topping is golden brown. Cool before slicing.