I love simple desserts. I especially love simple desserts that taste great, and it’s these type of recipes that I like to have on hand during the busy holiday season. When you’re trying to orchestrate a culinary feast—one that includes a giant turkey the size of a small child, along with an endless list of sides—sometimes you need an easy dessert.

These Cranberry Orange Bars, shared by Stephanie, fit the bill perfectly. I love cranberry sauce, and these bars are the perfect combination of a sweetly tart cranberry sauce, sandwiched between a tasty cobbler-type crust and topping. Using just a few easy ingredients, you can have these bars whipped up in no time. 

This is a great way to use up any leftover cranberry sauce from your Thanksgiving meal too!

You’ll need: water, sugar, fresh squeezed orange juice and orange zest, fresh cranberries, yellow cake mix, oats, cinnamon, butter, and eggs.

Rinse your cranberries so they’re nice and clean.

Remove the zest from an orange, and squeeze out all of the juicy goodness. Set aside.

In a saucepan, add the water and sugar. Stir until the sugar is absorbed. 

Add the rinsed cranberries …

Along with the orange juice …

And the zest. Simmer over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes until the cranberries pop and the mixture begins to thicken.

Pour into a bowl and let cool completely (at least 1 hour).

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, oats, and cinnamon.

Add the melted butter and the eggs.

Mix until everything is well-combined. Set aside about 1 1/2 cups of the mixture.

Spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Spread the remaining batter and push down into the pan, forming a crust.

Spread the cooled cranberry sauce evenly over the crust. 

Then drop the reserved 1 1/2 cups of batter by the spoonful evenly over the mixture. With a fork or spoon, gently try to push down and spread some of each spoonful so it’s not as thick. You do not need to cover all of the cranberries; try to avoid pushing the batter down into the cranberry sauce.

Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Allow to cool for at least 2 hours before cutting into bars.

Recipe note: You may not need to bake these for the full 35 minutes, depending on your oven. Start checking them at about 25-30 minutes.

These are delicious on their own, and just as tasty with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream! Perfect to go with any holiday meal.

Thank you Stephanie for sharing these goodies with us! You can check out more of her delicious looking recipes on her blog Eat. Drink. Love.

Printable Recipe

Cranberry Orange Bars

by Stephanie { Eat. Drink. Love.} on December 6, 2011 in Brownies and Bars, Desserts December 6, 2011 Brownies and BarsDesserts

See post on Stephanie { Eat. Drink. Love.}’s site!

5.00 Mitt(s) 1 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 1 hr

Cook Time: 35 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 24

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Cranberry Orange Bars—a perfect blend of sweet and tangy! Perfect for the holidays!

Ingredients

• ¾ cups Water
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 bag (12 Oz. Size) Fresh Cranberries
• 1 whole Orange, Zest And Juice
• 1 box (18.25 Oz. Size) Yellow Cake Mix
• 1 cup Rolled Oats
• ¾ cups Butter, Melted
• 2 whole Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Preparation Instructions

1. You’re basically going to start off by making cranberry sauce! In a saucepan, add the water and sugar. Stir until the sugar is absorbed. Add the rinsed cranberries, along with the orange juice and zest. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the cranberries pop and the mixture begins to thicken. Pour into a bowl and let cool completely (at least 1 hour).

2. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. In a large bowl, add the cake mix, oats, melted butter, eggs, and cinnamon. Mix until everything is well-combined. Set aside about 1 1/2 cups of the mixture. In a 9×13 baking dish, spray with nonstick spray. With the remaining batter, spread and push down into the pan, forming a crust.

3. Spread the cooled cranberry sauce evenly over the “crust”. Then, with the 1 1/2 cups of batter you reserved, drop it by the spoonful evenly over the mixture. Then, with a knife or spoon, gently try to push down and spread some of each spoonful so it’s not as thick. You do not need to cover all of the cranberries, and try to avoid pushing the batter down into the cranberry sauce. Bake for approximately 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Let the bars cool for at least 2 hours before cutting into bars (trust me on that one!)!

 
 
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Amber is a stay at home mom who lives in the heart of the Missouri Ozarks. It’s a long way from where she grew up, in Wales (yes, way over in the U.K.). The recipes in her blog Sprinkled with Flour include her original creations as well as her family recipes. Go check them out!

 
These rolls, a variation of the Sweet Potato Garlic Knots from Tasty Kitchen members Neil and Jessica, were so fun and easy to make. I loved that you could use pumpkin puree or sweet potato puree and how well they fit in to a holiday dinner. And they’re beautiful, too!

To make them you will need: warm water, active dry yeast, honey or agave nectar, olive oil, sweet potato or pumpkin puree, flour and salt. If you want to make the original version, you’ll need some garlic, too.

Begin by mixing warm water and yeast together in a bowl. Let it sit to activate the yeast.

Meanwhile, mix together the dry ingredients: salt and flour.

Then when the yeast and flour have developed, finish combining your wet ingredients to the yeast and water mixture, including the agave …

Olive oil …

And sweet potato puree. Mix them well.

Combine the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix them well.

Create a uniform ball with your hands, making sure to gather all of the dry bits from the bowl.

Drizzle a bit of olive oil and rub it around to keep the surface from drying out.

Then cover with a wet paper towel and let rise for 2 hours.

It will have about doubled in size when it is ready.

Divide the dough into small balls that will fit into the palm of your hand.

Roll them out into long pieces …

And then tie your knots! Tuck in the ends, too.

Place them on a pizza stone if you have one, so they become crispy on the outside, and bake for 10-15 minutes until they are golden brown.


When they are ready, you can brush them with olive oil. If making garlic knots, brush with a mixture of olive oil and minced garlic.

They are a beautiful color and shape, delicious, and perfect for a holiday meal. Thank you to Neil and Jessica for sharing this with us! Check out their website Kohler Created for other delicious recipes.

Printable Recipe

Sweet Potato Garlic Knots

by Neil and Jessica [at] Kohler Created on November 10, 2010 in Breads, Dinner Rolls November 10, 2010 BreadsDinner Rolls

See post on Neil and Jessica [at] Kohler Created’s site!

5.00 Mitt(s) 8 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 2 hrs

Cook Time: 15 mins

Difficulty: Intermediate

Servings: 16

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Easy Sweet Potato Garlic Knots.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Warm Water
• 1 envelope (7g Envelope) Active Dry Yeast
• 2 Tablespoons Honey Or Agave Nectar
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil,, Plus More To Oil The Bowl
• ½ cups Sweet Potato Puree (fresh Or Canned)
• 3-½ cups Unbleached Bread Flour
• 1-½ teaspoon Coarse Kosher Salt
• Minced Garlic And Olive Oil, To Brush On Baked Knots

Preparation Instructions

Note: To make sweet potato puree, wash and peel sweet potato and cut into 1-inch squares. Place in a large pot and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for 20-25 minutes or until soft. Remove from heat and drain into a colander and return to the pot. Mash and allow them to sit while you prepare your other ingredients.

1. Pour warm water into a medium bowl and slowly whisk in yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes, then add honey, olive oil and mashed sweet potato. Whisk until thoroughly combined and smooth.
2. In a separate bowl, mix flour and salt. Slowly stir in wet ingredients and continue to stir until it becomes impossible to stir more. Then use your hands to continue mixing and slowly start kneading your dough, adding more flour to your hands to keep it from sticking.
3. Once you’ve created your dough ball, add olive oil to the bottom of your bowl and roll the dough ball in it until it is coated. Cover with Saran wrap or a damp towel and store in a dry place (I use my microwave) for two hours.
4. Around the last 15-minute mark, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Divide your dough into pieces you can easily hold in your fist and roll them into long strips around 8 or 9-inches long. Don’t worry if they’re skinny, they’ll still get fat when they bake. Tie each into a knot, tuck the edges under each side, then place each on the pizza stone.
5. Bake until golden, around 10-15 minutes. Brush with minced garlic and olive oil immediately after removing from oven. Allow to cool 3-5 minutes.

 
 
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There’s so much to say about Georgia, we don’t know where to start. Leaving Wall Street for the French Culinary Institute, followed by a stint at the Gramercy Tavern and La Chassagnette in France, her passion for food and food traditions are evident and inspiring. Visit her site at Georgia Pellegrini, where you’ll find more recipes, photos, learn all about her wonderful books Girl Hunter and Food Heroes, and enjoy her latest adventures.