Cranberry-Orange Fruit Bars

These sweet-tart cranberry-orange bars are a great addition to a holiday cookie tray or cool weather grab-and-go treat. I made them last year and they were….YUMMY!

Crust:

• 1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds or hazelnuts) or old-fashioned rolled oats, divided
• ¾ cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Fruit filling:

• 5 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen, divided
• ½ cup orange juice
• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ cup cornstarch
• 1 cup orange segments
• 1 ½ teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. To prepare crust: combine ¾ cup nuts (or oats), whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar and salt in a food processor; pulse until all the nuts are finely ground.  Add butter; pulse until well incorporated.
2. Whisk egg, oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla and almond extract in a small bowl.  With the motor running add the mixture to the food processor.  Process, the pulse, scraping down the sides, if necessary, until the mixture begin to clump, 30 to 45 seconds (it will look crumbly).  Measure out ½ cup of the mixture and combine in a bowl with the remaining ¼ cup chopped nuts (or oats). Set aside for the topping.
3. Preheat oven to 400°F. Generously coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
4. To prepare fruit filling & assemble bars: Combine 3 cups cranberries, orange juice, sugar and cornstarch in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is very thick, 4 to 5 minutes. (It may take up to 10 minutes to get a thick result if you start with frozen fruit.) Stir in the remaining 2 cups cranberries, orange zest and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
5. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking dish. Spread evenly and press firmly into the bottom to form a crust. Spread the fruit filling over the crust. Sprinkle the reserved topping over the filling.
6. Bake the bars for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake until the crust and topping are lightly brown, 25 to 30 minutes more. Let cool completely before cutting into bars, at least 1 1/2 hours.

Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate the crust and topping (Steps 1-2) for up to 1 day. Cover or individually wrap and refrigerate the cooled bars for up to 5 days.

Tips: Lower in protein than regular whole-wheat flour, whole-wheat pastry flour is milled from soft wheat and has less gluten-forming potential, making it a better choice for tender baked goods. You can find it in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets and natural-foods stores. Store in the freezer.

_{EatingWell – 9/2010}