When I saw a display of clamshell containers filled with beautiful ruby red cranberries at Whole Foods a few weeks ago, I could not resist buying one. I decided to make Cranberry-Apple-Walnut Crumb Bars, which have a walnut crust and crumb topping surrounding a filling made from fresh cranberries and dried apples. I keep dried apples on hand, so after purchasing a pound of cranberries, I had everything I need to make the recipe.
Or so I thought. It was only after I started making the bars that I realized I was somehow out of walnuts. But I had every other kind of nut in my fridge (pistachios, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, and even Brazil nuts), and I decided to use hazelnuts instead. The crust and crumb topping start from the same base mixture that you made in the food processor by grinding half of the nuts with sugar; adding in flour, baking powder, and salt; and pulsing in cold cubed butter. You remove a generous cup of this mixture to reserve for the topping, and blend in an egg to the portion remaining in the food processor to form the crust dough. I pressed the crust into a parchment-lined 9-inch by 13-inch pan, docked it with a fork, baked it until lightly golden, and let it cool.
To make the filling, you cook half a pound of cranberries with chopped dried apples, sugar, maple syrup, brandy (I used regular brandy instead of apple brandy), and salt, simmering until the mixture is thick and the cranberries have popped open. You remove the pan from the heat and add in another cup of cranberries, so you end up with different textures of cranberries in the final product. I spread the filling onto the cooled crust and them sprinkled on the topping, which I made by taking the reserved mixture from the food processor, squeezing it until it formed clumps, and adding in chopped hazelnuts.
I thought the finished bars were very pretty. The crumb topping stayed in big distinct crumbs dotted with craggy pieces of hazelnuts, but it left plenty of jewel-toned cranberry filling showing through. The bottom crust was baked through and didn't get soggy. And the bars were delicious. I liked the sharp and chunky cranberry filling, although I couldn't make out the flavor of the apples. I liked the pure cranberry flavor without any lemon or orange, which you usually see paired with cranberries. The crumbs were buttery and sweet and I really liked the crunch and flavor of the hazelnuts. Now that I've enjoyed the bars with hazelnuts, I have a hard time believing that they would taste better with walnuts. But either way, these vibrant bars do a great job of showcasing the beauty and flavor of fresh cranberries.
Recipe: "Cranberry-Apple-Walnut Crumb Bars" from Fine Cooking.
Or so I thought. It was only after I started making the bars that I realized I was somehow out of walnuts. But I had every other kind of nut in my fridge (pistachios, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, and even Brazil nuts), and I decided to use hazelnuts instead. The crust and crumb topping start from the same base mixture that you made in the food processor by grinding half of the nuts with sugar; adding in flour, baking powder, and salt; and pulsing in cold cubed butter. You remove a generous cup of this mixture to reserve for the topping, and blend in an egg to the portion remaining in the food processor to form the crust dough. I pressed the crust into a parchment-lined 9-inch by 13-inch pan, docked it with a fork, baked it until lightly golden, and let it cool.
To make the filling, you cook half a pound of cranberries with chopped dried apples, sugar, maple syrup, brandy (I used regular brandy instead of apple brandy), and salt, simmering until the mixture is thick and the cranberries have popped open. You remove the pan from the heat and add in another cup of cranberries, so you end up with different textures of cranberries in the final product. I spread the filling onto the cooled crust and them sprinkled on the topping, which I made by taking the reserved mixture from the food processor, squeezing it until it formed clumps, and adding in chopped hazelnuts.
Recipe: "Cranberry-Apple-Walnut Crumb Bars" from Fine Cooking.
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