I do love lemon desserts. My mother made the best Lemon Meringue pie, and it was my dad’s favorite. My own favorite has always been lemon bars – the kind with a curd-like lemon layer topping a sweet short crust, and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

I shouldn’t be making desserts, since I am the only one in the house, although I found out last year that lemon bars freeze quite well. Anyway, I had  a bag of lemons that needed to be used, so I thought I would make lemon bars and maybe lemon curd and freeze them for future use.

Yesterday I made a new recipe – Lemon/Cranberry bars, and said I would post the recipe if they turned out well. The result is delicious!

As you can see, they are a 3-layer bar: sweet short crust, cranberry jam, lemon curd. They are sweet, but with a nice lemony bite. I chose not to top mine with powdered sugar, but that is an option. Here is how they are made.

You can buy whole cranberries in the frozen food aisle of the supermarket, but they are a bit expensive. I buy extra bags fresh at Thanksgiving time, then just put the bags straight into the freezer. They keep well that way. I don’t suggest that you buy canned cranberry sauce, as it contains high fructose corn syrup.

INGREDIENTS
Yield: 2 dozen bars

FOR THE CRANBERRY LAYER
1 (12-ounce/340-gram) bag fresh or frozen cranberries
¾ cup/150 grams granulated sugar
3 TB water
zest of 2 large lemons

FOR THE CRUST
Nonstick cooking spray
1½ cups/190 grams AP flour
⅓ cup/65 grams granulated sugar
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup/170 grams unsalted butter (1½ sticks), melted and cooled

FOR THE LEMON LAYER
1 cup/200 grams granulated sugar
¼ cup/30 grams all-purpose flour
⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Powdered sugar (optional)

PREPARATION

Step 1
Start preparing the cranberry layer: Combine the cranberries,
sugar and 3 tablespoons water in a medium saucepan. Zest 2 of
the lemons directly into the saucepan; reserve the lemons.

Step 2
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
Continue boiling, stirring occasionally, until the berries burst and
the mixture is jammy, 7 to 9 minutes. Remove from the heat and
reserve.

Step 3
Make the crust: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom and
sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with one large sheet of heavy
aluminum foil, making sure there are no gaps or holes, then
generously coat with cooking spray.

Step 4
Whisk the flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk the
vanilla into the butter, then pour over the flour mixture. Stir until
the dough comes together in a mass. Press into an even layer in
the prepared pan. Bake until golden brown around the edges and
dry and golden on top, 17 to 20 minutes.

Step 5
While the crust bakes, begin preparing the lemon layer: Squeeze
the juice from the 2 reserved zested lemons. You should have ½
cup. Squeeze the juice from another lemon, if needed.

Step 6
Whisk the sugar, flour and salt in a medium bowl. Add the eggs
and whisk gently just until incorporated. Add the lemon juice and
stir gently with the whisk just until smooth.

Step 7
Let the crust cool for 5 minutes, then spread the cranberry
mixture evenly over the crust. Carefully and slowly pour the
lemon mixture on top to create two distinct layers.

Step 8
Return the pan to the oven and bake until the filling is set, 18 to 22
minutes. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack, then
refrigerate until cold and firm, at least 2 hours. Using the foil,
slide the bars out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Cut into 24
squares, wiping your knife between cuts for clean slices. If
desired, sift powdered sugar over the tops just before serving

I still have lemons, so lemon curd is next!