These sweet, tart Cranberry Crumb Bars with Coconut and Clementine are an all-time favorite baking recipe for a Christmas dessert or afternoon snack and any time around the holiday season.

overhead ofthe bars cut and spread out on a baking sheet

These Cranberry Crumb Bars were originally published here on November 20th 2012, and adapted from a recipe I developed for The Simple Art of EatingWell. The text and images are updated.

Table of contents

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

These crumb bars never fail to make me so happy and so in the mood for holiday baking! I love the sweet tart balance of clementines and cranberries, the tender crumb topping and simple press-in crust. And the flavor of coconut to set it all off.

Serve these Cranberry Crumb Bars for a holiday dessert or as a sweet afternoon snack! They are a favorite seasonal treat when cranberries are in season!

side view of the bars on a plate

Key Ingredients For These Cranberry Crumb Bars

cranberry crumb bars ingredients on a gray table with text overlay
  • Almonds: Almonds are for the dough and topping.
  • Flour: All-purpose and whole-wheat pastry flour for the dough.
  • Cranberries: You can use either fresh or frozen.
  • Sugar: Granulated sugar for the dough and cranberry filling.
  • Salt: Salt helps to bring out other flavors.
  • Oil: You’ll need sunflower (or canola oil) and coconut oil for the dough.
  • Egg: 1 large egg helps to hold the dough together and bring in moisture.
  • Extracts: 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and ¼ teaspoon almond extract
  • Unsweetened coconut chips: Coconut chips are sprinkled on top of the bars.
  • Clementine: You’ll need clementine zest, juice and the fruit itself.
  • Cornstarch: to help thicken the cranberry filling.

How to Make Cranberry Crumb Bars with Coconut and Clementines

Think of these bars being three layers. The fist layer is the bottom crust, the middle layer is the cranberry clementine fruit mixture and the golden crumb topping with coconut flakes is third.

prepping the pan and preheating the oven

Step 1: Preheat

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and generously coat a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

making the crust and topping

Step 2: Make Crust and Topping

To make the crust and topping, combine almonds, flours, sugar and salt in a food processor. Pulse until the almonds are ground, then add the coconut oil. Whisk together the egg, sunflower or canola oil, vanilla and almond extract in a small dish until combined, then add it to the dry ingredients in the food processor.

Then you divide that in half–some for the bottom crust and some for the crumb topping.

cooking the filling

Step 3: Make Cranberry Filling

The cranberry clementine filling is made up of cooked cranberries, sugar and freshly squeezed clementine juice. Stir 3 cups cranberries, ¾ cup sugar, clementine juice and cornstarch in medium saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Continue cooking, stirring constantly until very thick, about 5 minutes total.

Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 2 cups uncooked cranberries, chopped clementine, zest and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

assembling the bars

Step 4: Assemble Crumb Bars

Press the crumb mixture into a baking pan and spread the cranberry mixture on top. After that, the remaining crumb mixture, blended with sliced almonds is crumbled over the whole pan. Then big fat coconut chips go on last.

cooling the bars then cutting

Step 5: Bake The Cranberry Bars

Once the Cranberry Crumb Bars are baked, the topping will be golden and the bottom crust will be set up and sturdy enough to cut into bars. Just make sure to let it cool before cutting them up.

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe
overhead of the pan of bars with a bowl of clementines, coconut and cranberries

FAQs and Expert Kitchen Tips

What if the dough feels and looks too dry?

The crumbs will most likely look loose, but if you squeeze them together with your hand it will clump together. You don’t want the dough to be wet because that means it may be too tough.

What to use instead of clementine

If you can’t find any good clementines you can sub in orange instead.

Adjusting the sweetness

If you feel as though the cranberry topping is too tart or sour, you can adjust the sweetness by adding in a little more sugar.

Storing instructions

Store the cranberry crumb bars in an airtight container (or sealable bag) at room temp, in the refrigerator. They will stay good for up to 2 days at room temp, and up to 4 days in the fridge.

More Holiday Baking Recipes

Clementine Rum Balls | Healthy Seasonal Recipes by Katie Webster

Clementine Rum Balls
closeup three quarter view of cookies on marble

Maple Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies
raspberry cookies stacked in baking dish

Raspberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies
a slice of the cake with a fork cutting into it

Healthier Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Thank you for reading! If you’re new here you may want to sign up for my email list or follow me on facebook to keep up with the latest posts. If you make this recipe, please come back and give it a star rating and review. It really helps!

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
the crumb bars cut into squares

Cranberry Crumb Bars with Clementines

★★★★★

5 from 5 reviews
  • Author: Katie Webster
  • Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
  • Yield: 18 servings 1x
Print Recipe

Description

A Christmas and holiday baking favorite dessert or snack: Cranberry crumb bars adapted from The Simple Art of EatingWell. These have a simple crust that doubles as the crumb topping with almonds. There are fresh clementines mixed into the cranberries and coconut oil and coconut flakes added as well.

Ingredients

Scale

Crust and Topping

  • 1 cup sliced almonds, divided
  • ¾ cup whole-wheat pastry flour
  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup coconut oil, softened if necessary according to package instructions
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons sunflower or canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut chips

Filling

  • 5 cups cranberries, divided
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ½ cup freshly squeezed clementine juice (save the zest)
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • 1 cup chopped peeled clementine
  • 1 ½ teaspoons clementine zest
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Generously coat a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
  2. Make the Crust and Topping: Combine ¾ cup almonds, whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, ½ cup sugar and salt in a food processor. Pulse until the almonds are ground. Add coconut oil and pulse until completely blended in. Whisk egg, sunflower or canola oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and almond extract in a small dish until combined. Turn on processor and drizzle egg mixture through the feed tube and continue processing and then pulsing, scraping down the sides a few times until the mixture becomes crumbly. {Note: the crumbs will be loose, but if you squeeze them together with your hand it will clump together.]
  3. Reserve ½ cup of the crumb mixture and mix in a bowl with the remaining almonds. Press the remaining crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared dish and set aside.
  4. Make the filling: Stir 3 cups cranberries, ¾ cup sugar, clementine juice and cornstarch in medium saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Continue cooking, stirring constantly until very thick, about 5 minutes total. Stir in the remaining 2 cups cranberries, chopped clementine, zest and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
  5. Spread the cranberry filling over the crust. Sprinkle the reserved topping over the top. Scatter the coconut chips over the topping and transfer to the oven. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue cooking until the filling bubbles and the topping is lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes longer. Cool completely before cutting.

Notes

Storing Tip: Store the cranberry crumb bars in an airtight container (or sealable bag) at room temp, in the refrigerator or freezer. They will stay good for up to 2 days at room temp, and up to 4 days in the fridge. 

  • Prep Time: 40 minutes
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 bar
  • Calories: 180
  • Sugar: 16 g
  • Sodium: 73 mg
  • Fat: 8 g
  • Saturated Fat: 3 g
  • Carbohydrates: 27 g
  • Fiber: 3 g
  • Protein: 3 g

Keywords: Cranberry Crumb Bars, Cranberry Crumb Bars with Clementines

Did you make this recipe?

Make sure you come back to the recipe post to leave a star rating and review.

cranberry bars on a wooden board
cranberry bars collage