Easy Cranberry Squares

Name: Cranberry Squares
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour; 3/4 cup white sugar; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 3/4 cup butter (cold); 1 large egg; 2 cups cranberry sauce

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If you’re looking for an easy holiday dessert that feels special without any fuss, these cranberry squares are perfect. They’re soft, buttery, and filled with a sweet-tart layer of cranberries, topped with a golden, buttery crumb.

Two cranberry crumb bars stacked on a plate next to a sheet of parchment with more cranberry squares.

This cranberry squares recipe is one of my favorite make-ahead treats for Thanksgiving or Christmas. It uses simple ingredients, comes together quickly, and looks so festive on a holiday dessert table.

It’s an easy dessert recipe you’ll want to make over and over again.

Why You’ll Love These
Cranberry Crumb Squares

Easy To Make: The dough doubles as both the crust and the crumb topping. So you only mix one bowl, and you’re done.
Perfect Holiday Flavor: The sweet crumb and tart cranberry filling make the best combination for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Ideal For Sharing: These bars slice cleanly and hold their shape, making them great for holiday parties, potlucks, dessert trays, or gifting to friends and neighbors.
Uses Extra Cranberry Sauce: This recipe is a delicious way to use up extra cranberry sauce. It turns leftovers into a beautiful cranberry dessert everyone will love.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, cold
1 large egg
2 cups cranberry sauce – Both whole berry and cranberry jelly work great.

How To Make Cranberry Squares

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper, then set it aside.

The dry ingredients for cranberry squares were measured into a mixing bowl.

In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt, and stir until combined.

Cubed butter added to the flour mixture.

Add the butter and cut the butter into pea-sized pieces using two knives or a pastry blender.

A scrambled egg was added to the dry ingredients.

Beat the egg, and then stir it into the mixture until it starts to get crumbly.

The crust was patted out into a baking dish lined with parchment paper.

Spread 2/3rds of the flour mixture into the 9×13-inch baking dish and press it down to make a crust.

Homemade cranberry sauce was spread over top of the crust layer.

Then spread the cranberry sauce evenly over the top of the crust.

The crumble topping was sprinkled over top of the cranberries.

Next, sprinkle the remaining flour mixture over the cranberries.

Homemade cranberry squares cooling in a baking dish.

Bake until the top is golden brown, about 40 minutes.

Let the square cool completely before slicing into bars.

Cooled cranberry crumb bars cut into squares on top of the parchment paper.

More Cranberry Recipes:

Two cranberry squares stacked on top of each other on a white plate.

FAQ’s

You can use either, I often use my homemade cranberry sauce, and the bars turn out perfectly. But if you have canned cranberry sauce on hand, it works great as well. As long as the sauce is thick enough to spread, it should work.

Yes, these bars are great for making ahead. The flavors blend as they cool, and the crumb toppings stay delicious even after a day or two. Just bake, cool completely, and store in an airtight container until you’re ready to serve.

They don’t have to be refrigerated, but they do keep longer if you store them in the fridge. Especially if your home is very warm, for the best freshness, refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to 4-5 days.

These bars freeze very well. Once they’re cooled and sliced, place them into a freezer-safe container with parchment paper between the layers. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to use, thaw them at room temperature.

The key is to let the bars cool completely before cutting. This gives the crust time to firm up.

Cranberry Squares

These cranberry squares are the perfect mix of sweet, tart, and buttery, with a soft cranberry filling and golden crumb topping. They’re an easy holiday treat everyone loves. Perfect dessert for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or a simple winter snack.

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Total Time 50

Serving Size servings

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter cold
1 large egg
2 cups cranberry sauce

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and stir together.
Cut the butter into pea-sized pieces.
Beat the egg and stir it into the mixture until it starts to get crumbly.
Spread 2/3rds of the flour mixture into a 9×13-inch baking dish and press it down to make a crust.
Spread the cranberry sauce over the top of the crust.
Then, crumble the rest of the flour mixture over the cranberries.
Bake until the top is golden brown, about 40 minutes.
Let the square cool completely before slicing into bars.

Nutrition

These values are from a nutritional database and automatically calculated, and should only be used as an approximation.

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Kim

Kim Mills is a homeschooling mom of 6 and lives on an urban homestead in Ontario, Canada. Blogging at Homestead Acres she enjoys sharing tips to help you save money, grow and preserve your own food.

Cranberry Squares

Why You’ll Love These
Cranberry Crumb Squares

Ingredients

How To Make Cranberry Squares

More Cranberry Recipes:

FAQ’s