Cranberry Key-Lime Squares

 
Just in the nick of time here is my November recipe for my Twelve Cookies of Christmas series!
 
It combines two of my favorite flavors, cranberries and key lime. If you’re not a fan of tart foods, you may skip the cranberries and just make key-lime bars. The cranberries lend lovely holiday color and flavor, however.
 
One could also counteract the tartness by adding a tad more sugar. I like my bars tart, however. And I did put LOTS of confectioner’s sugar on top of the bars; they looked a bit like the ground after a dusting of snow.  (The cranberries represent our hardy New England rocks!)

Until December……

 
 
Ingredients:
 
for the crust:
 
1 cup flour
6 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
1/4 teaspoon sat
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
 
for the middle:
 
1/2 to 2/3 cup cranberries
 
for the filling and top:
 
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons key-lime juice
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons flour
confectioner’s sugar as needed for dusting
 
Instructions:
 
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter an 8-inch-square pan.
 
First, prepare the butter crust. In a small bowl combine the flour, confectioner’s sugar, and salt. Cut in the butter.
 
Press this mixture (it will be crumbly!) into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes.
 
Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool for 5 minutes. Press the cranberries into the crust (they may or may not press down effectively; if they float up, they will be just fine!).
 
Move on to the key-lime filling. In a bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt, and key-lime juice until they are thoroughly combined. Whisk in the milk, followed by the flour.
 
Pour the filling over the crust and cranberries, and return the pan to the oven. Bake until the filling sets and the edges are just a little brown. In my oven this took about 45 minutes.
 
Allow the bars to cool in their pan; then cut them into squares. 

Makes 16 squares.


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9 Responses to “Cranberry Key-Lime Squares”

  1. Grad says:

    Tinky, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I love all the cranberry recipes you’ve posted. I am a true lover of the stuff. Unfortunately, I’m the only one in the family who is. But, I think the cranberry key-line bars might be just the ticket to change some minds around here. I usually buy several bags of cranberries around this time of year and throw them in the freezer, so I’m always on the lookout for great recipes. I usually just pour out what I will use for, let’s say, a cranberry-organe relish for myself. I want to convert others, though, since they are so full of good stuff. I’m going to print out some of the cookie recipes you’ve been posting over the year so I can start my Christmas cookie baking this weekend. Although I’m not a huge fan of what Christmas has become (too commercialized) I do love its true meaning, and the baking and cooking and family celebrations.

  2. these sound great! I think the combo of the two tart fruits would be delicious!

  3. Now these are my kind of cookies, Tinky! And I even have fresh key lime juice. I think I’ll put this one on the holiday list.

    In the meantime, I’m enjoying catching up on what you’ve been cooking while my laptop was in hospital. Hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

  4. I think I will have to visit you …. I am in need of comfort food to help me cope with all the snow – and these definitely fit the bill!!

  5. Grad says:

    Happy Hanukkah, Tinky!!

  6. tinkyweisblat says:

    Same to you, Grad, and I couldn’t agree more about celebrating the holidays in a simple and meaningful way. I would say, however, that the upside-down cake would be a better converter of non-cranberry folks than this, which is a tad tart. Abigail and EveryDay, thanks for the kudos (I wish I had that fresh juice; I settle for the bottled kind) and I hope your Thanksgivings were great. Frayed, I hope you and all of Europe get plowed out soon…..

  7. BumbleVee says:

    hey Tinky ….. don’t forget some cranberries in biscotti … i’m making pistachio/cranberry in the next day or so

    Have to say…I always get such a giggle at your header…. me and my Mom when she was alive … …. or, now me and my sister… this is just us to a “T”

  8. Nan says:

    How do you think it would work with lemon juice instead of key lime? I am actually a fan of lemon over lime even in cocktails!:<)

  9. tinkyweisblat says:

    Hi, Nan–Lemon juice would absolutely work; they’re basically a lemon bar with key-lime juice. If you haven’t tried key lime juice, however, I’d definitely give it a whirl. It’s much more subtle and rich tasting than regular lime………