Cranberry Ginger Bars

via

This recipe is from Joanne at eats well with others. See her recipe or follow the recipe here (with my additions and improvements in red):
Cranberry Ginger Bars
Filling:
1 bag fresh or frozen cranberries (2 1/2 cups)
1/3 cups plus 3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
1 tbsp orange zest
3 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract
Shortbread Crust:
2 cups flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup brown sugar
1) Preheat the oven to 350. Grease 8 x 8 baking pan with butter or cooking spray.
2) Place cranberries, sugar, brown sugar, ginger, orange zest, and vanilla in a large pan. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Boil for five minutes or until reduced and syrup like. Stir once in a while to prevent burning. (At Thanksgiving I make a homemade cranberry sauce. Whole cranberries are easier to eat if they are not whole cranberries anymore. Because of this, while stirring, I smashed the berries down as well.) Take off heat and cool. (I suggest cooling with a lid on the pot. If you don't you will lose precious moisture from the cranberry mix.)
3) Sift together flour, salt, cornstarch, and ginger.
4) Cream the butter with the vanilla and brown sugar. Add in the flour slowly and mix until just incorporated.
5) Press 2/3 of the dough into the prepared pan. (I followed this 2/3 dough instruction and wished I had done 3/4 of the dough, with the remaining 1/4 on top. ) Pour the cranberry filling on top. Crumble the remaining dough over the top. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top begins to brown. Cool on a wire rack. Cut and serve. 
Nutrition Facts

9 Servings

Amount per serving:

Calories        391.3g

Total Fat        20.8g

Total Carbs    53.8g

Fiber                    2g
Protein             3.2g
Weight Watchers Points Plus Values: 11
Thoughts: If I were to do this recipe over again, I would double the cranberry mixture and cut the shortbread mixture in half. As the recipe is, the cranberry mixture is overwhelmed by the large amount of shortbread dough. For this reason, I give this bar cookie 2 pins.
If you just hopped over here from Pinterest, Welcome! Feel free to check out the other recipes I have reviewed. And come back again to visit sometime soon. - Lynn