Cranberry Curd Bars with Walnut Shortbread Crust
The hardest part about making these bars might be refraining from eating the vibrant-hued cranberry curd straight from the bowl.
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Ingredients
For 24 COM_JOOMRECIPE_SERVING_TYPE_
cranberry-curd-bars-with-walnut-shortbread-crust
- 1 c walnuts
- 1 c flour
- 1/2 c confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 t cinnamon
- 3/4 t salt
- 1 c butter
- 12 oz cranberries
- 1/2 c water
- 1 c granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 4 egg yolks
- 2 T lemon juice
Cranberry Curd Bars with Walnut Shortbread Crust Directions
- Line a 9x13” baking pan with parchment.
- Place the walnuts in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until coarsely ground (see note). Add the flour, confectioners’ sugar, cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon of salt, and pulse to finely grind. Add ½ cup of the cubed butter, and pulse just until it comes together. If you scoop some of the mixture into your hand and press it, it should hold together.
- Press the shortbread dough into the parchment-lined pan, pressing it down in an even layer. Place in the freezer, and freeze for at least 30 minutes, and up to 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Bake the shortbread crust for 20-25 minutes, until the edges begin to turn golden. Remove from oven and set aside.
- Combine the cranberries and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, until the cranberries have popped and turned soft. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl, and use a spatula to press the cranberries through the strainer. Allow the cranberry purée to cool, discard the cranberry skins, and clean the strainer.
- When the cranberry purée has cooled to room temperature, fold in the granulated sugar, eggs, egg yolks, lemon juice, and remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt. Stir until evenly combined.
- Transfer the cranberry mixture to the saucepan, and heat over a medium flame. Stir constantly, scraping the bottom and corners of the pot. Cook 10-12 minutes, until the curd starts to thicken and coats the back of a spoon. It should read 150˚F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from heat, and stir in the remaining ½ cup of cubed butter. Stir until melted.
- Set the fine-mesh strainer over a clean bowl, then strain the cranberry curd. Pour the warm cranberry curd onto the walnut shortbread crust. Bake at 350˚F for 10-15 minutes, until the curd has just set, but still wiggles in the center. Cool completely. Just before serving, dust with powdered sugar, then use a sharp knife to slice into squares.
- Keep refrigerated.