These cranberry lemon bars have a mix of lemon curd and cranberry curd swirled together and baked on top of chewy shortbread. These two-toned bars have a sweet and tart lemon flavor that pairs perfectly with the buttery shortbread crust.
They taste just like the classic lemon bars everyone loves, but look even more beautiful!
Lemon desserts are bright, tangy, and always super delicious! These lemon squares use our thick, creamy lemon curd which is the same recipe we use in these lemon tartlets, lemon meringue donuts, and lemon curd cake!
We also love how easy shortbread bars are because they use an easy press-in crust. For more shortbread bar recipes, try these pumpkin pie bars, blueberry pie bars, apple crumble bars, and caramel apple bars.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
A twist on lemon bars - these lemon cranberry bars taste just like a classic lemon bar with a cranberry layer swirled in to create two beautiful distinct layers with complex tartness.
One curd, two flavors - while there are two different flavors in these bars, you only need to make one batch of lemon curd. The cranberry puree gets mixed into a small amount of the lemon curd to make for a vibrant color and extra tangy flavor
Holiday dessert - these lemon squares with cranberry swirls would make for a unique option to add to the holiday dessert table! While most offerings contain pumpkin, apple, and cozy spices, these lemon bars are bright, tart, and festive in color.
Ingredients
- Cranberries. Fresh or frozen cranberries get cooked down into a thick puree, then mixed into lemon curd to create the cranberry layer.
- Lemons. Lemon zest and fresh lemon juice are used to make the fresh lemon curd. Bottled lemon juice should not be used for this recipe.
- Eggs. Whole eggs are used to make the lemon curd, and 1 egg yolk gets mixed into the cranberry curd to give it extra structure.
- Granulated sugar. This is the only sweetener used in the recipe within all layers.
- Unsalted butter. Butter is used in both the shortbread base and lemon curd. Just over ¾ cups of butter is used.
See recipe card for full ingredients list and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- Use fresh or frozen cranberries to make the cranberry puree.
- Puree leftover cranberry sauce to mix with the lemon curd instead of cooking down cranberries.
How to Make This Recipe
One: Cook down the ingredients for the cranberries, puree until smooth, then pass it through a fine mesh sieve.
Two: Make the shortbread dough and mix until it holds together in your hand.
Three: Press the shortbread dough into a prepared pan and par bake.
Four: Make the lemon curd while the crust bakes.
Five: Pass it through a fine mesh sieve and stir in butter to finish it.
Six: Add ⅓ of the lemon curd and 1 egg yolk to the cranberry puree and whisk until smooth.
Seven: Alternate adding the lemon and cranberry curds on top of the par-baked shortbread.
Eight: Use a butter knife to swirl the curds together, then bake and cool completely before slicing in.
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Expert Tips
- Cook the cranberries until very thick and almost no excess liquid remains. This ensures the cranberry layer sets up during baking.
- Pass the cranberry puree through a fine mesh sieve so the cranberry curd is completely smooth.
- Don't over-measure the flour. Adding too much will make the dough too crumbly and hard when baked.
- Cool the bars completely before slicing in.
- Wipe the knife off completely in between each slice. Push down, slide the knife out of the side, clean the knife, and repeat cuts.
Recipe FAQs
This recipe has only been tested with this version of homemade lemon curd. Store-bought curds are typically a lot thinner, so I would be concerned the bars wouldn't set correctly using pre-made curd.
This is because the lemon and cranberry curds were over-swirled. When swirling two batters together, less is best!
Storage
Store the cranberry lemon bars uncovered in the fridge for two days. After two days, the curd begins to lose structure and seep and can fall off of the shortbread. These bars should not be frozen.
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What to Know When Cooking with The Cozy Plum
- All recipes are created with Diamond Crystal kosher salt, the least salty variety of kosher salt. If using Morton's, you'll need to cut the amount of salt in half as it's 2x as salty. This will be the same for sea salt. Please do not use table salt.
- Switch between Cups vs Metric using the toggle on the recipe card. Baking by weight using a digital scale will always produce the most accurate results.
- Scale the recipe using the '1X' '2X' '3X' buttons on the recipe card. Note that this does not make an adjustment for baking times, only quantities.
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📖Recipe
Cranberry Lemon Bars
Equipment
- Whisk
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment, or handheld mixer
Ingredients
- 1½ cups cranberries fresh or frozen
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 2 cups lemon curd lemon curd recipe
- 1 large egg yolk
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- Zest of 1 lemon
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1¼ cups all purpose flour
Instructions
- Add the cranberries, sugar, and water to a saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries are broken down, bubbling, and thick. About 10 minutes until most of the water is cooked out. Use the back of a spoon to mash the cranberries as they cook.1½ cups cranberries, ¼ cup sugar, ¼ cup water
- Use an immersion blender to blend the cranberries into a smooth puree (or use a food processor or blender) then pass it through a fine mesh sieve. Set aside.
- Make the lemon curd.2 cups lemon curd
- Combine ⅓ of the lemon curd, cranberry puree, and egg yolks until completely smooth.1 large egg yolk
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 300℉ and line the bottom and sides of a 8x8" baking pan with parchment paper slings so you can easily pull the bars out after baking.
- Place the butter into the stand mixer (with paddle attachment) and turn on high for 4 minutes until it turns pale, then scrape down the sides.½ cup unsalted butter
- Over low speed, add the sugar, lemon zest, and salt then turn to medium for one minute. Scrape down the sides again.¼ cup granulated sugar, Zest of 1 lemon, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Add in the flour and mix on low until combined. The dough may look slightly crumbly, but will still hold together when pressed between your fingers.1¼ cups all purpose flour
- Press the dough into the prepared pan until completely smooth (press it into the corners and sides very well).
- Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. Increase the oven temperature to 350℉.
- Alternate adding spoonfuls of the lemon and cranberry fillings on top of the crust until all of it is used. Use a butter knife to swirl the mixtures together to create a marbled effect (don’t over swirl!).
- Bake the bars for 25 minutes until the center is slightly jiggly but the edges are set and matte. Cool at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Transfer the bars to the fridge (uncovered) to chill and set for at least 6 hours.
- Slice the bars, then serve as is or with a dusting of powdered sugar.
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