Cranberry-Macadamia Bars

[Linda in MO]

I posted this the other day on another thread, but they're so good I thought they deserved a thread of their own! I didn't want anyone to miss it. ;)
They're sweet and tart, buttery and nutty, gooey and crisp all at once. I only had 1/2 cup of macadamia nuts so I cut the recipe in half and used an 8 inch pan. And I used unsalted butter, so I added a pinch of kosher salt to the crust mixture. I might use more orange zest next time.
And unfortunatley today I found out that they taste just as delicious straight from the freezer. :D

* Exported from MasterCook *

Cranberry-Macadamia Bars

Recipe By : Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Cookies 2002, pg. 76
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Cookies/Brownies

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 1/4 c All-purpose flour
3/4 c Sugar
1/2 c Butter
1 c Finely chopped macadamias --hazelnuts or pecans
1 1/4 c Sugar
2 Beaten eggs
2 tb Milk
1 t Finely shredded orange peel
1 t Vanilla
1 c Finely chopped cranberries
1/2 c Coconut

Crust: In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour and 3/4 c sugar.
Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/2 c
of the nuts. Press the flour mixture onto the bottom of an ungreased
13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake in a 350 F oven for 10-15 minutes or
until crust is light brown around edges.

Topping: Combine the 1 1/4 c sugar, eggs, milk, orange peel, and
vanilla. Beat until combined. Pour over the hot crust. Sprinkle
with the remaining nuts, cranberries, and coconut.

Bake in the 350 F oven for 30 minutes more or until golden. Cool
slightly in the pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars while still warm. Cool completely.

Note: Store in fridge for 3 days or can be frozen for up to 3 months.

[neeter]

yum! thanks for posting this! i'm def going to try this - thanks.

[AzAnne]

Thanks for re-posting this! Missed the first one.
Question.... Do you think I can used dried cranberries or perhaps dates?

[valchemist]

linda,

do you happen to know what measurement of whole cranberries equals 1 cup of finely chopped cranberries?

val

[JJ40]

I'm just wondering what nuts could be subbed for the macadamias, since they are so expensive. What about hazelnuts??

Julie

[valchemist]

julie,

if you look in the ingredient list above, you will see that pecans or hazlenuts can be subbed.

val

[Linda in MO]

AzAnne, I really loved them with the fresh cranberries, so I'm not sure how well dried cranberries or dates would be. I would decrease the sugar a bit if you used them though.

Val, I just measured out a heaping half cupful (for 1/2 the recipe) and then tossed them in my food processor. It's one of those things that doesn't need to be exact.

I took what was left of these to my BIL's house today and they were gobbled up! I'll definitely be making these again.

[JJ40]

I obviously didn't look at the recipe too closely! Thanks, valchemist! :)

[valchemist]

I made these today and they are excellent. Thanks for the recipe, Linda.

[Linda in MO]

Oh I'm so glad you liked them, Val! This was one of my favorite recipes from last year.

[Kayaksoup]

Oh My God!
Incredible and exactly what i was looking for. i subbed pecans and left out the coconut. absolutely delicious.

[emily]

I can see how these would make an awesome bar. However, I do not recommend putting them in the oven and then forgetting about them :( I ended up with a burned mess that wasn't even edible. I did manage to scrape a bit of the top off to sample and the flavor was great. If I can manage to find the will to bake again tomorrow (I made biscotti, chocolate chip cookies and ruined these bars today), I'll be whipping up another batch and remembering about them this time ;)

Thanks for another great recipe, Linda!

Emily

[Linda in MO]

Oh no emily! What a bummer! You definitely have to try them again though. Well, if it makes you feel any better...I burnt my last batch of gingerbread cookies yesterday. :o ;)

[bobmark226]

Originally posted by emily
I can see how these would make an awesome bar. However, I do not recommend putting them in the oven and then forgetting about them :( I ended up with a burned mess that wasn't even edible. I did manage to scrape a bit of the top off to sample and the flavor was great. If I can manage to find the will to bake again tomorrow (I made biscotti, chocolate chip cookies and ruined these bars today), I'll be whipping up another batch and remembering about them this time ;)

Thanks for another great recipe, Linda!

Emily

Stoopid as they may seem, a year ago I broke down and bought myself one of those timers with the neck cord which has saved me more times than I care to think about.

No burned batches, Emily, and I highly recommend them now!

BOB

[RebeccaT]

I am planning to make these tonight. DH did my shopping for me yesterday (what a doll!), and I told him to get either macadamias or hazelnuts. Well, he got hazelnuts, and they still have the skins on them. :( Do you think that the skins would taste bad in this recipe? Or should I just suck it up and skin them?

[greysangel]

oh no...i may have to add another to my list :D Stop the baking insanity! :eek: :D

j

[neeter]

this is a great cookie, i love them! my family asked me to make them again!

rebecca, you can use the hazelnuts, but i would do skin off. just roast them in the oven at 350 for about 15-20 minutes, and then let them cool a little bit. then put the nuts in a towel and rub the towel together - the skin will come right off! good luck!

[emily]

Rebecca, I know mine failed, but I did it with hazelnuts, skin on version. I roasted them in the toaster oven at 350 for about 8 minutes (they were already really dark) and briefly contemplated removing the skins but didn't. When chopping them up, the skins sort of pop off and stick to the cutting board. The bits that made it in didn't seem to adversely affect the recipe, just gave more of a "nutty" appearance. And the unburned parts that I tasted were still darn good.

:)

em

[donleyk]

One can't very well review a recipe that one doesn't bother to FOLLOW, however, I will say these were very tasty and I will try again. I think I will leave the crust in the full 15 minutes next time. I only did 10 and these are mushy. I don't know if they'll set up some more while cooling.

[RebeccaT]

I made these last night, and they are WONDERFUL! I am so excited about how they turned out!

I wanted a double batch, but I don't have 2 9x13 pans, so I made them in a jelly roll pan. On Emily's advice, I made 1.5 times the amount of crust (which was the perfect amount) but doubled the toppings. It worked out very well.

I peeled my hazelnuts using the blanching method (boil them in a pot of water with a couple of Tbs of baking soda added), and the skins just slid right off. I then toasted them in my oven for about 25 minutes, which may seem like a really long time but I wanted to dry them out. They got very flavorful this way, but not bitter at all.

I used my food processor to chop the nuts and the cranberries (separately, of course! :p ) and that saved me a ton of energy... I was NOT looking forward to all that chopping! The food processor was particularly good for the cranberries... they were the perfect texture.

I did *slightly* overbake them, I think, because the edges were pretty chewy. But I am not sure I could have taken them out sooner, because the bars in the middle were still quite gooey. I cut them into squares, and then diagonally into triangles, which is a pretty shape for these bars. I froze them, and I am looking forward to having leftovers after our party!

[greysangel]

I made these and the taste is great, but appearance for me not so much. I think I over chopped the cranberry, because it just looks like a layer of red with the coconut on top. The crust still wasn't brown after 15 minutes, so I left it another five. The result was a very difficult time getting these out of the pan. Even after cooled, they were still a bit gooey so I had to cut them really small to make decent looking squares. I will have to try these again because I really like the flavor.

JeAnne

[njc]

This is one of my favorite recipes. I've been making them since it was published. I have an uncle and late aunt in Hawaii who send all of us cartons of Macadamia nuts for Christmas. So I have collected lots of Mac nut recipes and even self published a small collection as a holiday gift for all my cousins. I can't wait to get back into this one when my nuts get here. I couldn't make my self pay for a can at the store. njc