Cranberry Coconut Bars

Wow, what a whirlwind of cooking and baking I just completed...now it's time to get those recipes up! Thanksgiving breakfast was a success! I think everyone left with happy tummies and just a few leftovers to deal with. There are several recipes I want to share, but I'll have to post them just one or two at a time...too much for one post! Here though, is a recipe I found from someone else's blog (Thanks Wonder Woman), but of course, I didn't have all the ingredients so I had to improvise. I'm calling them Cranberry Coconut Bars because, what would a baked good be from my Krazy Kitchen without some coconut???

Cranberry Coconut Bars

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup coconut (my substitution because I did not have almond meal)

1 cup cold butter

1 egg

1/4 tsp cinnamon (which I added to the cranberry mixture instead of the crust)

zest of 1 orange (my addition)

juice of 1/2 an orange

4 cups fresh cranberries (I only had 1 package, so I improvised and used 2 cups Craisins as well)

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 Tbls cornstarch

Mix together sugar, flour, coconut, salt and baking powder in a food processor or use a pastry cutter until crumbly. Add the egg and mix until it all comes together. Pat half the mixture into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan, or line the pan with foil that's been sprayed with non-stick spray. I used the flat bottom of a glass to help pat the mixture down.

Next, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, orange juice, orange zest, and cinnamon. Add the cranberries. Sprinkle mixture evenly over bottom crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the top.

Bake at 375 for 45-55 minutes, until top is golden brown. Cool completely and chill in the refridgerator until ready to cut. Store in the refridgerator.

I will definitely be making these again before Christmas, but I may try adding coconut to the cranberry mixture or perhaps almond extract? We shall see...:-)