Cranberry-Citrus Bars

I have been preparing a goodie basket for the midwives who will help me deliver my baby boy in a few weeks as I have heard that bringing a few treats can help make everyone have a happier experience!  Today I tried an experiment to use up some old citrus I had laying around, and I was very happy with the outcome!  I wanted to do a spin on the classic lemon bar, which is always a crowd pleaser, but thought I could make it a little more interesting with the addition of cranberries (they go great with oranges in bread/muffins, so why not?).  Also, I used other citrus fruit juices since I had some that needed to be used, and I didn't have quite enough for solely lemon juice.  Here is the recipe which turned out fantastic!

Cranberry-Citrus Bars


1 1/2 cups and 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp flour
1/2 cup and 1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp and 1 Tbsp citrus zest, finely chopped
1 1/2 sticks butter, cut into cubes at room temperature
1 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup fresh citrus juice (I used 3 small meyer lemons, 1 lime, and 1/2 grapefruit)
5 eggs
Powdered sugar as needed


-Preheat oven to 350 deg. F
-Pour 1/2 cup white sugar into a food processor, turn it on high for about 2 minutes until sugar becomes super fine.
-Add in 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and 1 tsp zest and mix until thoroughly incorporated.
-Drop in cubes of butter and pulse until the mixture resembles pie crust.
-Butter the bottom and sides of a 9" X 13" X 2" baking pan.
-Press the crust mixture evenly into the bottom of the buttered pan and bake for about 20 minutes.
-While crust is baking, pulse cranberries, 1 Tbsp zest, and about half of the citrus juice in food processor until the mix almost becomes a paste.
-Heat remaining juice in microwave for about 30 seconds and pour over the cranberry paste.
-When crust is lightly golden brown, remove it from the oven, but leave the oven on at 350 deg. F.
-Beat together eggs, 1 1/2 cups white sugar, 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp flour, and cranberry paste/citrus juice in mixer until thoroughly combined.
-Pour mixture over warm crust, and spread evenly as necessary.
-Bake an additional 30 minutes or until filling is set in the middle.
-Allow bars to cool completely, then sprinkle powdered sugar over the top and cut into 24 squares.