Cranberry Curd Bars with a Pistachio Shortbread Crust

Cranberry curd bars with a pistachio shortbread crust are the perfect holiday dessert bars to make for Christmas this year. Tangy, sweet, and beautiful, they’re a treat that’s sure to impress!

“These are better than lemon bars!”

Those aren’t my words…that’s what my stepmother (the former caterer and event planner) said when she first tasted these cranberry curd bars with a pistachio shortbread crust.

I’ve always loved a sweet-tart combination. It’s why I ended up making three versions of lemon cake mix cookies, and beautiful candied cranberries.

But if you’re looking for a holiday cranberry bars recipe that’s different from everything else you’ll see all over Pinterest, then this is it.

Cranberry curd bars with a pistachio shortbread crust are delightfully tart and sweet. The crust is flaky, but it doesn’t fall apart.

Seriously, I had to give away half the pan just to avoid eating them all myself.

And now you know how my stepmother got a taste.

How to Make Cranberry Curd Bars with a Pistachio Shortbread Crust:

Start by Preparing the pistachio shortbread

For the shortbread crust, you’ll be letting a food processor do all the work.

It’s as simple as grinding nuts, then blitzing in some flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon. And then finally, you add some butter to pull it all together.

It takes about 3 to 4 minutes altogether. You’ll know it’s ready when the mixture sticks together when you squeeze it in your hand.

Then you get it in the pan, press it down firmly (I used a package of cold butter!), and freeze for an hour before baking.

What if you don’t have a food processor:

I haven’t yet attempted to make this without a food processor, but you can try to chop the nuts as finely as possible with a chef or santoku knife.

Then add the dry ingredients and use a pastry cutter or fork to cut in the butter, just like you would a pie crust. Keep going until the mixture is as close as possible to the consistency shown in the picture above.

Can you use other kinds of nuts for the crust?

I haven’t yet tried other types of nuts, but you can certainly try a substitution. However, you may need to adjust the amount of butter you use and your baking time.

For example, walnuts can easily become bitter if baked too long, almonds have a lower fat percentage than pistachios, and almonds and pecans can both burn easily.

If you try other nuts in your crust, let me know how they turned out!

While the Crust Chills and Bakes, Prepare the Cranberry Curd

I won’t lie, the cranberry curd is time-consuming, but the process is actually very simple.

You’ll just combine fresh cranberries, sugar, water, and lemon juice in a pot and heat them until they pop. Then comes the first strain to remove the cranberry skin from the mixture.

The resulting pulp will go back into your stockpot with some sugar, eggs, an extra egg yolk, and some salt. It all gets cooked down until you can see drag lines in the mixture from your whisk.

Then you strain it all again, to create a sumptuous and silky cranberry curd.

If you want to reduce the sweetness of the curd

Yes, there’s quite a bit of sugar in the curd, but remember, cranberries are seriously tart. They need at least a little bit of sweetness to balance the flavors out. And don’t be fooled, you can definitely taste the cranberry in these bars.

If you really want to reduce the sugar in the recipe, then you can try cutting it down to as little as ¼ cup granulated sugar and ¼ cup brown sugar.

But if you choose to reduce the sugar, please remember to taste test your curd before adding the eggs. And if it’s still super tart, add a tablespoon or so of either sugar into the mixture until you get a balance of sweetness that you like.

Do you really have to strain everything twice?

I suppose you could try to skip the second strain, but I wouldn’t recommend it. The first straining removes all the cranberry skins and large bits that would be unpleasant to eat. The second strain is what makes sure your curd is silky smooth.

If you skip the first strain, your curd won’t set up properly. If you skip the second strain, then you’ll likely end up with unpleasant chunks in your bars.

I’m always surprised at how many solid pieces are still in the sieve with the second strain.

Assemble the Cranberry Curd Bars

When the crust is baked and cooled, and the curd is nice and silky, you’ll finally assemble everything together and then bake the bars one more time.

Once cooled, the bars are easy to pull out of the pan when you’ve got the parchment paper lining. Just grab the paper and carefully lift them out.

Then dust with a sprinkling of powdered sugar and cut into 16 squares. Yum!

How to Display Your Cranberry Bars

The star of these cranberry bars is the curd, so they look best displayed in a single layer on a platter or cake stand.

If you’re serving these at a party, you can cut them into smaller squares or cut the squares diagonally to create triangles. This will create the perfect bite-size treat for your guests to pop in their mouths.

Garnish with a sprinkle of fresh cranberries and pistachios to finish off your platter.

Tips & Tricks:

• Use a light mist of cooking spray between parchment sheets to keep the sheets from slipping around.
• When pressing the shortbread into the pan, use a layer of parchment paper on top of the dough and press down firmly with a solid object, such as a flat bottom measuring cup or a cold package of butter. This not only helps make sure the crust is packed down, it also helps make an even crust.
• When straining the cranberries, it helps to use the back of a wooden spoon to push the pulp through.
• Don’t forget to occasionally scrape the bottom of the sieve as you strain as well. The pulp/curd tends to stick to the bottom. This will also make it easier to push additional pulp through the sieve.
• Make these cranberry bars up to 2 or 3 days in advance and keep them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve.

More Desserts You’ll Love

• Orange Vanilla Candied Cranberries
• Sweet Potato Bars with Maple Frosting
• Beer Brownies with a Pretzel Crust
• Cinnamon Spice Cake Mix Blondies
• Pear Pie Crumble Bars with a Cookie Butter Drizzle

Note: This recipe is adapted from The Kitchn

Now It’s Your Turn

Some things are totally worth a little extra effort, and these cranberry curd bars with a pistachio shortbread crust definitely fall into that category. I’ve made them a few times now, and every time I find myself wishing I had more.

If you love sweet and tangy desserts, then this is a holiday dessert worth trying. So yummy!

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