These gluten-free, dairy-free Cranberry Pecan Cookie Bars are the best of tart, sweet, and buttery flavors! Made with fresh cranberries, allergen-friendly butter, and pecans, these dessert bars are easy to prepare and are ready in under an hour! {Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Soy-Free}
Here’s the truth, friends. I had low expectations for gluten-free Cranberry Pecan Cookie Bars. Like, how good can fresh cranberries and chopped pecans be together? Umm, INCREDIBLY FREAKING GOOD.
The exact reasons I thought they would turn out strange were the exact reasons these cookie bars turned out so well. Here’s the math for the quantitive people in our Spirited community:
Tart cranberries + buttery sweet pecans + sugary sweet cookie batter = WINNING RECIPE
In fact, I don’t think this recipe works as well without all three components. They are their own trifecta. And we will NOT mess with the trifecta. It gets its spot in our virtual recipe tin. And there it stays.
I adapted this recipe from Karen Jaracki’s Cranberry Nut Bars in Best of Country Cookies (1999). And as recipes go, this is a simple one to prepare. Combine the ingredients, plop in a 9×13 dish, bake, cool slightly, serve, and enjoy. YESSSSSS!!!!!!
We will be eating these throughout the holiday season, and we hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Cranberry Pecan Cookie Bars ingredients
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make your own batch of gluten-free Cranberry Pecan Cookie Bars!
- Allergen-friendly buttery spread
- Sugar (Brown sugar, along with either monkfruit sweetener or regular granulated sugar)
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Gluten-free flour (Not all gluten-free flours taste or look the same. Select one you like for baking)
- Gluten-free baking powder
- Sea salt
- Fresh cranberries, halved
- Pecans, chopped
Tips to make delicious Cranberry Pecan Cookie Bars
Here are a few ways I ensure I get exactly the cookie bar I want!
- Remove any cranberries that are soft or red on the inside.
- Grease the baking dish and line it with a piece of parchment. This will make removing the bars much easier to do!
- Monkfruit sweetener will produce a denser, less flaky cookie bar. Regular granulated sugar will produce a lighter, flakier cookie bar.
- To make this recipe allergen-friendly, we use Earth Balance Soy-Free Buttery Spread (store in a tub rather than in stick form) and Bobo’s Red Mill One to One Baking Flour (their all-purpose gluten-free flour will also work). These aren’t paid mentions. We’d like you to know what works for us, in the event you’re in search of allergen-friendly baking products.
Cranberries galore!!!
If you DO like cranberries, and you’re in the market for creative ways to enjoy them, then check out these tasty vittles and sips!
- Paleo Cranberry Cake
- Cranberry Pomegranate Margaritas
- Winter Fruit Salsa
- Cranberry Pomegranate Cocktails
- 3-Ingredient Cranberry Pomegranate Spread
Happy cranberry season, Spiriteds. From our family to yours, we hope you are safe and well, and we’re glad you’re here. ❤️
Cranberry Pecan Cookie Bars
These gluten-free, dairy-free Cranberry Pecan Cookie Bars are the best of tart, sweet, and buttery flavors! Made with fresh cranberries, allergen-friendly butter, and pecans, these dessert bars are easy to prepare and are ready in under an hour! {Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Soy-Free}
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 26 minutes
- Total Time: 41 minutes
- Yield: 16 bars 1x
- Category: Baked Goods
- Method: Baking
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup allergen-friendly butter (I like Earth Balance Soy-Free Buttery Spread packaged in the tub)
- 3/4 cup monkfruit sweetener (granulated sugar will also work)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 1/4 cup gluten-free baking flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup fresh cranberries, halved
- 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
Instructions
- Set oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9×13 pan. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, cream the butter on LOW speed until softened. Add the monkfruit sweetener and brown sugar. Blend until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and continue blending until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sea salt. Pour the dry ingredients into the batter and blend on LOW to MEDIUM until the ingredients are blended. Stir in the cranberries and pecans and pour the batter into the greased pan.
- Bake for 22-26 minutes, or until the edges are browned and a toothpick comes out clean when placed in the thickest part of the bars. Remove from oven and let cool for several minutes before serving.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
Notes
- Remove any cranberries that are soft or red on the inside.
- Grease the baking dish and line it with a piece of parchment. This will make removing the bars much easier to do!
- Monkfruit sweetener will produce a denser, less flaky cookie bar. Regular granulated sugar will produce a lighter, flakier cookie bar.
- To make this recipe allergen-friendly, we use Earth Balance Soy-Free Buttery Spread (store in a tub rather than in stick form) and Bobo’s Red Mill One to One Baking Flour (their all-purpose gluten-free flour will also work). These aren’t paid mentions. We’d like you to know what works for us, in the event you’re in search of allergen-friendly baking products.
Jarocki, Karen. “Cranberry Nut Bars.” Recipe. Best of Country Cookies. Ed. Julie Schnittka. Greendale, WI:Reiman Publications, LLC., 1999. 88. Print.
Leave a Reply