These gluten free cranberry mandarin crumble bars are the perfect combination of sweet, buttery, and tart! They come together with 20 minutes of hands-on prep and about an hour of combined oven time. Once cool, the bars are drizzled with an easy and quick mandarin orange glaze.
Tossing in one last contender for your holiday baking: these gluten free cranberry mandarin crumble bars! They have a buttery shortbready crust, a sweet-tart cranberry and mandarin orange filling that gets all jammy in the oven, and an oat crumble topping. Since I don’t like overcomplicating things, and honestly hate doing dishes, both the crust and crumble are made from the same base mixture. I intentionally kept the bars on the less sweet side as the mandarin glaze that is drizzled over the top is pretty sweet. I really love all of the different textures happening in these cranberry crumble bars: flaky crust, jammy filling, and crisp crumble topping. It makes each bite perfect, especially with a drizzle of the glaze!
Notes on Ingredients and Substitutions
I developed these cranberry crumble bars using a 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour which is a pre-made mix that keeps you from having to buy 3 or 4 different flours. I’m partial to the one from Bob’s Red Mill but the one from King Arthur is great, too. If you’re not gluten free, I’ve tested these with the same amount of all-purpose flour and they turn out equally delicious! You can absolutely make these vegan as well — simply use 1 cup of melted vegan butter (the baking block/sticks, NOT the spreadable kind sold in tubs). A mandarin is a type of citrus that includes varieties like clementines, satsumas, and tangerines. I used clementines because there’s always a giant bowl full in my kitchen this time of year but you can use any variety you like!
Feel free to check out the “notes” section in the recipe card below for even more info on substitutions!
Tips for Working with 1 to 1 Gluten Free Flour
I’ve spent a lot of time in the kitchen working with all kinds of gluten free flours over the years. Here are a couple of tips that will help in these crumble bars:
- Gluten free flours absorb liquids different than wheat flour! That means that sometimes a GF batter or dough might look a little more wet, or it might need a little extra mixing to give the flour a chance to hydrate. In this recipe, you’ll most likely need to spend some extra time stirring the crust ingredients together so that the flour can absorb the melted butter.
- Gluten free flours often brown a little differently than wheat flour. In this recipe, you’re looking for a pale color for the first bake on the crust and a lightly golden color on the crumble when the bars are done.
Gluten Free Cranberry Mandarin Crumble Bars in 6 Easy Steps
Want More Cranberry Recipes?
I really love the tart flavor of cranberries throughout fall and winter! If you want to preserve that flavor to enjoy throughout the year, I highly recommend my cranberry orange marmalade. It has canning instructions and can easily be doubled or tripled! If you love cranberry and orange together in baked goods, I think you’ll really dig these gluten free spiced cranberry orange scones! Make them for a lazy holiday or weekend brunch. Prefer to drink your cranberries? Sip on this cranberry mocktail with blood orange and ginger beer.
Gluten Free Cranberry Mandarin Crumble Bars
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 9 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These gluten free cranberry mandarin crumble bars are the perfect combination of sweet, buttery, and tart! They come together with 20 minutes of hands-on prep and about an hour of combined oven time. Once cool, the bars are drizzled with an easy and quick mandarin orange glaze.
Ingredients
for the crust and crumble topping:
- 2 cups 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour (do the spoon and level method for accurate results or measure out 240 grams by weight)
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 scant cup rolled oats
for the cranberry mandarin filling:
- 2 3/4 cups fresh cranberries
- 2 teaspoons mandarin zest
- 2 tablespoons mandarin juice
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour
for the mandarin glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tiny pinch sea salt
- 1–2 tablespoons mandarin juice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Lightly grease an 8×8-inch baking pan then line it with parchment leaving an overhang. This will make it easy to remove the baked and cooled bars. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Make the crust by mixing together the flour, sea salt, sugar, cinnamon, and cloves. Add the vanilla and melted butter and mix well until the dough comes together and looks cohesive. Place about 2/3 of this mixture into the prepared pan and press it into an even layer. Leave the remaining 1/3 in the bowl then mix in the oats and set it aside. This will be your crumble topping. Bake the crust for 15-17 minutes until it is just set, pale in color, and no longer shiny. Remove the crust then increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
While the crust layer bakes, add all of the ingredients for the cranberry mandarin filling to a medium bowl. Mix well until the cranberries are evenly coated in the other ingredients.
Pour the cranberry filling over the baked crust, gently spreading it into an even layer. Crumble the oat mixture evenly over the top of the cranberries. Bake in the preheated 350 degree oven for 35-45 min until the crumble topping is lightly golden and the juices from the cranberries are bubbling.
Cool the bars completely before slicing. I prefer to let them cool on a wire rack at room temperature for 30 minutes, then let them cool completely in the fridge or freezer.
When the bars are cool, use the parchment to remove them from the baking pan. Cut them into 9 equal squares for larger bars, or 16 equal squares for smaller bars.
Add the sifted powdered sugar, salt, 1 tablespoon of mandarin juice, and vanilla extract to a medium bowl. Whisk vigorously to bring the glaze together. If it seems to dry, add a bit more mandarin juice until you have a thick but pourable consistency. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cooled bars then enjoy!
Leftovers store best in the fridge. Enjoy within 2-3 days for the best flavor and texture.
Notes
- Binder clips will help keep the parchment in place. I use one on each side of the pan.
- I find it most accurate to weigh gluten free flours rather than using volume measurements for the most accurate results. For this recipe, you’ll need 240 grams of 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour (sometimes also called “cup for cup” or something similar). If you don’t have a kitchen scale, fluff up your flour in the bag, then spoon it into a measuring cup, overfilling it. Hold the cup over the bag of flour then use a knife to scrape off the excess until the surface of the flour is even with the top of the measuring cup.
- Frozen cranberries can be used in place of fresh. Use them frozen without thawing.
- If you’re using clementines, you’ll need 4-5 total for the zest and juice used in the recipe. Make sure to remove the zest first before juicing!
- If you are celiac, make sure to use certified gluten free rolled oats.
- I recommend using an 8×8-inch baking pan for this recipe as a 9×9-inch one will make the bars too thin. The recipe was tested with a metal pan. If you’re using a glass or ceramic one, you’ll most likely need to increase the baking time a bit.
- I typically bake on the center rack of the oven unless otherwise noted in the recipe.
- The bars are intentionally more tart/less sweet since the glaze that is drizzled over the top is very sweet. If you do not want to use the glaze, I recommend using 1/2 cup granulated sugar in the cranberry filling.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dessert
I loved this flavor combo! These bars were perfect and I can’t wait to make them again for company!
It’s such a great flavor pairing for winter! Nice and bright to combat the gloomy days. So happy you enjoyed the bars!
These were a massive hit in my house this weekend. Thank you for the recipe.
So glad everyone enjoyed the recipe and thank you for coming back to leave a review!
The mandarin zest totally wakes up the cranberry, such a fresh twist. Saving this for Christmas.
So happy to hear that! I hope you enjoy them!
Wow, I thought the bars were incredible, but that glaze!!! Definitely making these again.
The glaze really ties everything together! So happy you enjoyed these.
I love how these two flavors combine! This texture is just so perfect.
So glad you liked the cranberry and mandarin combo — definitely my favorite during the holidays!
Love that these bars come together so quickly! The combination of cranberry, mandarin, and buttery crumble sounds irresistible.
They’re a new favorite in my household! Hope you enjoy them!
The glaze on these bars took them to the next level. I can’t wait to make them again.
Yay! So glad you enjoyed the glaze.
Cranberry orange is one of my favorite winter flavor combinations. These were divine. I loved the use of mandarin oranges, and the glaze takes these over the top. Thanks for the fantastic recipe!
It’s one of my favorites, too! So happy you enjoyed the bars 🙂