Christmas is going to be different this year, but many of us love our holiday traditions and I think this year it will be more important than ever to honour those traditions so that we can enjoy some stability. Because in Ontario, we are limited to celebrating Christmas with our individual households (or one other household for single-person households), there is no need to make batches and batches of Christmas cookies. I will, however, wrap up small packages of cookies to send home with my brother and sister when they arrive to exchange gifts with us on our porch.
Toronto went into lockdown on Monday, November 23. I was lucky enough to visit my local Bulk Barn one day before the lockdown to get all of the ingredients I needed for my Christmas baking. Of course, Bulk Barn is still open during the lockdown since they sell only food; however, I thought there might be line-ups to get in. You have to be sure to remember all of the ingredients that you have bought because, understandably due to the spreading of germs, Bulk Barn removed all of the pencils that you normally use to write down the ingredient name on the tag for your item.
I’m going to focus on two kinds of cookies this year: a bar cookie and a drop cookie. The bar cookies I’ll be making are Cranberry White Chocolate Bars. These delicious bars are a twist on the ever-popular Hello Dolly Bars also known as Magic Cookie Bars. One big difference in the preparation is that for Hello Dolly Bars, you just layer all of the ingredients whereas with my Cranberry White Chocolate Bars, you blend all of the ingredients together then spread the cookie mixture in the pan.
Did you know that fresh and dried cranberries are a rich source of vitamins C, E and K1 and are known for preventing UTIs (urinary tract infections)?
Cranberry White Chocolate Bars are pretty filling due to the inclusion of nuts and fruit. These bars offer a blend of textures including chewy, soft and crunchy. My taste tester enjoyed them so much that I had to freeze most of them so they will last until Christmas!
You might be interested in reading, “Best Bar Cookies for Christmas Holidays“.
Cranberry White Chocolate Bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
- 1 cup sweetened coconut
- 1 cup pecan halves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Blend butter and graham cracker crumbs until combined.
- Press graham cracker crumb mixture In a 9" square baking pan.
- Combine sweetened condensed milk, white chocolate, cranberries, coconut and pecans in a bowl and stir until evenly combined.
- Spread white chocolate/cranberry mixture over graham cracker crumb mixture and press down lightly.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. The bars will be a bit moist with a little bit of liquid that will evaporate when you chill them. Cool on a rack in pan.
- Chill and slice into bars.
You know, I honestly don’t think I’ve ever eaten a cranberry! However, I’ve never met a berry I don’t like so I’m sure I’d love them ☺️ I’m a *big* fan of white chocolate, so these bars sound really good! I’m definitely in a baking mood after reading this 🙌
Cranberries are a bit tart, but because of this, they go very well with sweet white chocolate. I hope you get a chance to try them. Cheers, Lori
We’re keeping the holidays very small and quiet in our corner of the world as well this year – trying to do our part! I’ve been debating whether or not to get into the holiday baking. These cranberry white chocolate bars sound delicious though!!
Yes, we’re in lockdown in Toronto and I suspect it will be extended through Christmas so our Christmas will be small too. No sense making several batches of Christmas cookies, but I definitely want some on hand. Cheers, Lori
Perfect recipe foe the holidays! I need to find one to take to neighbors. This sounds so good!
Thanks! I like it because it’s easy to make! Cheers, Lori
Absolutely perfect for Christmas. Lovely idea to pack them and give them as a gift. I will definitely put these bars on my list to make.
Thanks, I love giving away some of my baking to family or friends for Christmas. Cheers, Lori
Seems easy enough so will def try. I have some nuts somewhere so those will be tossed in too lol. We’re not in lockdown in NYC…yet…but certain neighbourhoods are seeing surging rates so they might just get us all under lockdown. Sigh…
Yes, this recipe is very easy! That’s great you are not in lockdown yet! We are where I am (Toronto) and the only stores open are the grocery stores and Walmart and Home Depot! Cheers, Lori
I am huge fan of cranberry, give me everything cranberry! I pinned your recipe for future
Thanks! I love cranberry too! I hope you enjoy it. Cheers, Lori
White chocolate and cranberries seem to work well together. What a lovely recipe idea. One to make with the kids!!!
You had me at sweetened condensed milk! These Cranberry White Chocolate Bars look amazing. I generally dont enjoy white chocolate but I have to say that these are definitely a nice twist on a classic christmas cookie recipe. My wife loves cranberries too. So we may have to whip these up while decorating the tree this year!
The combination of tart cranberries and sweet white chocolate sounds good. I like the idea of this treat?
Wow! This is delicious. I am not really a pro in baking but this looks easy and worth the try. Thank you for sharing the recipe. Can’t wait to try this. Perfect for the holidays.
Comments are closed.