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