- Cranberry Orange Streusel Bars

Dear Fans of Hounds Who Cook,

We have been on sabbatical due to the Rabbit season and our Girl had a prolonged trip to Africa where she ate things like matoki and curries and meat upon skewers. We dogs were on vacation in Minneapolis where we did not have access to a computer but communed with our dog pack instead.

Now as it is Christmastime, we are back in a hound frenzy to make the best of all possible Christmas cookies. I had a morning nap whilst it snowed large flakes and woke up with a great desire for cranberries. We dogs love the cranberry first because it pops between our teeth and second because of its healthful antioxidant properties.

We started with a recipe our Girl read in the Mazda shop whilst they replaced her engine coils. It was a Bobby Flay recipe in Good Housekeeping. We have houndified it and consider it our new favorite recipe for Christmas so far.

Due to the recipe using only the Yolks of the egg (our favorite part), this would be a very good day to make a batch of coconut macaroons as well, as they use only Whites. 

Cranberry Orange Streusel Bars
 Me's Independent Rating: 3 of 3

12 oz cranberries
1-1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
2 clementines (for zest and juice) or an orange
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
2 egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup pecan pieces
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Rinse the cranberries and pluck out any withered or blackened ones. Leave them to thaw slightly on paper towel in a single layer on a cookie sheet. With parchment paper, line a 13x9 cookie sheet with sides and let the paper overhang every side.

Mix flour, oats, sugar, nutmeg, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Cut butter into pieces and work into flour with your fingers. Set aside 3/4 cup to 1 cup of the crumbs for topping. Press the rest into the parchment-lined pan. Bake at 350 degrees until light golden - 12 minutes.

Zest the clementines with a microplane grater. (It's the only kind we find that will work on a clementine. Or use an orange with a regular zester.) Get 1 tsp. of zest and 1/3 cup juice from the clementines. Whisk sweetened condensed milk with yolks, vanilla, zest, and juice til well combined.

Sprinkle cranberries over hot crust. Pour orange mixture over cranberries and crust. Sprinkle with pecans. Sprinkle with remaining shortbread crumbs. Bake 30-37 minutes until filling is firm and topping is golden brown.

For powdered sugar option, cool on rack one hour, then lift bars by the parchment paper, sift powdered sugar lightly over bars. Cut and serve.

For icing option, blend powdered sugar with 2 tsp. water and drizzle over hot bars. Return to oven for a few minutes til icing is bubbly. Remove from oven and cool on rack for one hour. Remove from pan using parchment paper edges. Cut and serve.

For freezing option, omit powdered sugar for now. Cool on rack one hour. Wrap and freeze up to 3 months. Use powdered sugar or icing option when thawed.

Notes from Elias: We like to cut the bars up before freezing because the likelihood of wanting one for a small evening snack here or there is very high. Then you don't have to wait for it to thaw, if it's already cut. Or you can wait.