These tasty bars are a great addition to any cookie tray or cookie swap!

Cranberry Almond Bars

These buttery bars are topped with sliced almonds and dried cranberries. They are an easy way to bake a batch of festive holiday cookies.

Crust

½ pound  butter, softened

½ cup sugar

1 egg

2 cups flour

Pinch of salt

Topping

¼ pound butter

1/2  cup brown sugar

½ cup honey

1 ½ cups sliced almonds

1 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 ℉. Spray a 13” x 9” baking pan with non-stick baking spray. Set aside.

2. Prepare crust. In the bowl of a stand mixer  ( or with a hand mixer ) cream butter and sugar until light. Add egg. Mix until well blended. On low speed, add flour and salt. Mix just until blended. Press dough into the bottom of prepared pan and slightly up the sides. Prick with a fork.

3. Bake crust 10 to 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven.

4. Prepare topping. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine butter, brown sugar and honey. Stir often until butter melts, sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat. Stir in heavy cream, almonds and dried cranberries. Spread mixture evenly on top of crust.

5. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until top begins to bubble and gets uniformly browned. Remove from the oven. Cool completely before cutting into squares or triangles.

Makes about 36 cookies.

Check out the how-to here!