Frosted Cranberry Apple Butter Bars

In my local area, some of the farmer’s markets and craft shows have opened, with appropriate safety precautions! This is great since those are great places to look for unusual ingredients, and that’s what makes baking fun. Most markets and shows have a greater online presence, which is great as it allows me to look and see what sort of things I might discover.

I recently picked up some cranberry apple butter at one of the shows. I have used apple butter for a couple of recipes, and I figured that this would be a nice twist for the holidays. Since it was cranberry apple butter, I wanted to find a recipe that also included cranberries, thus this recipe! I halved the recipe and made it in an 8” square pan, which was the only change that I made.

This bar cookie spans both fall and holiday flavors, with cinnamon, apple, and oats, but then that is paired with cranberries. This makes a thin bar, with a thin layer of frosting, but I like that this time of year when there is so much of everything around! The cranberry apple butter gives the frosting a light pink hue, which is nice. The bars have a hearty oat flavor, paired with the tart cranberries and the sweet frosting. Your first thought might be Valentine’s Day because of the pink frosting, but they are great for the holidays.

Frosted Cranberry Apple Butter Bars
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cranberry apple butter
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups oats
3/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons cranberry apple butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Cinnamon sugar

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick spray.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, shortening, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until creamy. Add the vanilla and the cranberry apple butter and mix on medium again to combine. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour, cinnamon, salt, and oats. Stir in the cranberries with a spatula.

Spread the mixture into the prepared pan.

Bake for about 22-24 minutes, until set. Allow the bars to cool before frosting.

Make the frosting: in a mixer bowl beat the butter until smooth. Add the cranberry apple butter and salt and stir on low to combine. With the mixer on low, gradually add the powdered sugar. Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, add the heavy cream, and mix on medium-high until light.

Frost the cooled bars and then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Recipe from Inside Bru Crew Life