Cranberry Coconut Bars are a delicious, hand-held sweet treat to make in the fall.

Once you spot fresh cranberries in the stores (by mid-October), it’s time to bake these Cranberry Coconut Bars!  They have a simple shortbread crust that is topped with a sweet, lemony, cranberry- coconut layer. These bars are similar to a great tasting lemon bar with the added bonus of cranberry and coconut.

This recipe originally came from a cookbook called, One Smart Cookie. It’s a cookie cookbook that has cookie and bar recipes that are a little lower in fat and calories. It’s an older book, but it’s still available on Amazon!

How to make Cranberry Coconut Bars:

Start with the crust. It’s a simple blend of butter, sugar, flour and a pinch of salt. The crust is pressed into the bottom of an 8×8-inch pan. It’s baked until golden around the edges.

Then it’s time to add the top layer. You’ll sprinkle cranberries and shredded coconut on top of the baked crust. If you can’t find fresh cranberries, it’s okay to use frozen.

Next, you’ll pour in the lemony filling. It’s a mix of sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, eggs and lemon juice. When you pour it on top of the cranberry- coconut mixture, it’ll find its way around all of those cranberries and fill in all around them.

Then it’s time to bake these Cranberry Coconut Bars. They bake for about 40 minutes. When they come out of the oven, you have the option of cutting them as is, or you can give them a little sprinkle of powdered sugar, if you’d like.

Aren’t they pretty? The tart cranberry is a nice complement to the sweet lemon filling. And the coconut is just a bonus.

Weight Watchers Friendly:

These Cranberry Coconut Bars are “sort of” WW friendly. They’re cut into small bars, and each bar will cost you 7 points on any color of the WW program. So if using up 7 points on a bar is worth it to you, then go for it!

Serve these on one of your holiday treat platters this holiday season. They’re festive and delicious. Enjoy!

Here are a few more recipes for bars that you might like to try:

• Nutella Shortbread Bars
• Royal Chocolate Marshmallow Bars
• Caramel Pecan Bars with Chocolate Drizzle
• Cranberry Bliss Bars
• Best Lemon Bars
• Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
• Lemon Blueberry Streusel Bars
• Cherry Pie Bars

Print

Cranberry Coconut Bars

A delicious hand-held sweet treat!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword bars, coconut, cranberry

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Servings 16 bars

Calories 143kcal

Author RecipeGirl.com (shared from the One Smart Cookie cookbook)

Ingredients

CRUST:

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• pinch of salt

TOPPING:

• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1½ cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• powdered sugar, for sprinkling on top (optional)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8x8-inch pan with nonstick spray.

PREPARE THE CRUST:

• In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Stir in the flour and salt until well combined and crumbly. Press the crust into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake about 12 minutes until just barely golden around the edges.

PREPARE THE TOPPING:

• In the same bowl (no need to wash it) whisk together the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Add the egg, egg white and lemon juice and stir until well-blended and smooth.
• Sprinkle the cranberries and coconut evenly over the baked crust. Pour the lemon filling over the top. Bake 40 to 45 minutes until golden and set. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if using, before cutting into squares.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bar | Calories: 143kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 41mg | Potassium: 50mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 111IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg | Blue WW Smartpoints: 7 | Green WW Smartpoints: 7 | Purple WW Smartpoints: 7

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