Cranberry Coconut Lemon Squares

cranberry-lemon-bars

I can’t remember the first time I made these. I make them every year – and now, on the verge of cookie month, when I went to look up the recipe here, I couldn’t believe I haven’t shared it yet. Sorry, guys.

For fans of the sweet-tart, these are it – a double whammy of pucker, with a layer of cranberries suspended in lemon filling. A smattering of coconut adds some sweet chewiness. I like that I can make them ahead of time and stack them in the freezer – in fact, freezing them first makes it easy to cut them cleanly, and they thaw nicely while sitting out on a plate. All they need is a shake of icing sugar.

Sorry to keep this short and sweet, but it’s important that you have this recipe ASAP.

Cranberry Coconut Lemon Squares

AuthorJulie

Yields1 Serving

Base:
6 Tbsp. butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
pinch salt
Topping:
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
grated zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon (about 3 Tbsp.)
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional)
icing sugar, for dusting

1

Preheat oven to 350°F.

2

In a medium bowl or the bowl of a food processor, combine the butter, sugar, flour and salt, blending with a pastry cutter or fork or pulsing in the food processor until well-combined and crumbly. Press into the bottom of a buttered or parchment-lined 8x8-inch pan and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until pale golden around the edges.

3

In the same bowl, combine the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice and stir until well blended and smooth.

4

Sprinkle the cranberries and coconut evenly over the base and pour the lemon filling over top. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden and set. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before cutting into squares; freeze them first for a cleaner cut. Once cooled, sprinkle with icing sugar before serving. (If you want to cut them really cleanly, cool and freeze, then cut them frozen.)

5

Makes 16 squares.

Ingredients

Base:
 6 Tbsp. butter, at room temperature
 1/4 cup sugar
 1 cup all-purpose flour
 pinch salt
Topping:
 1 cup sugar
 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
 1/4 tsp. baking powder
 1/4 tsp. salt
 2 large eggs
 grated zest of 1 lemon
 juice of 1 lemon (about 3 Tbsp.)
 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
 1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional)
 icing sugar, for dusting

Directions

1

Preheat oven to 350°F.

2

In a medium bowl or the bowl of a food processor, combine the butter, sugar, flour and salt, blending with a pastry cutter or fork or pulsing in the food processor until well-combined and crumbly. Press into the bottom of a buttered or parchment-lined 8x8-inch pan and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until pale golden around the edges.

3

In the same bowl, combine the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice and stir until well blended and smooth.

4

Sprinkle the cranberries and coconut evenly over the base and pour the lemon filling over top. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden and set. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before cutting into squares; freeze them first for a cleaner cut. Once cooled, sprinkle with icing sugar before serving. (If you want to cut them really cleanly, cool and freeze, then cut them frozen.)

5

Makes 16 squares.

Cranberry Coconut Lemon Squares
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34 comments on “Cranberry Coconut Lemon Squares

  1. Cassie
    November 29, 2016 at 9:21 pm

    Wow, these look amazing! Can’t wait to try them out. 🙂

  2. Anonymous
    November 29, 2016 at 9:37 pm

    Julie, your blog should have a warning about protecting keyboards from drool. Or maybe you need to joint venture with a tech wizard to market a “kitchen-(and drool) friendly laptop. Seriously, this made me drool! Thanks for sharing. I think these will become a tradition in my family.

    • Julie
      November 29, 2016 at 9:46 pm

      Waterproof! I think you may be on to something…

  3. Caroline Csak
    November 29, 2016 at 11:03 pm

    Going to try these – may even try them with sour cherries, as I have bagfuls in the freezer.

    • Julie
      December 1, 2016 at 7:40 am

      Ooh, brilliant idea!!

  4. Carolyn
    November 30, 2016 at 9:52 am

    These are the same/very similar as the recipe in One Smart Cookie, except the butter content in the crust is increased a bit? If yes, they are super yummy!

    • Julie
      December 1, 2016 at 7:40 am

      Yes! I use a bit more butter now – partly because it’s not as feared now as it was in the nineties, and to make it easier to handle – people tend to panic a bit when the crust mixture seems dry. 🙂

  5. Sue D
    November 30, 2016 at 11:36 am

    What a timely reminder – one of my absolute favourites! Thanks Julie!

    • Julie
      December 1, 2016 at 7:39 am

      I know – I had almost forgotten!

  6. Heather
    December 3, 2016 at 12:48 pm

    Could I use raspberries instead of cranberries??

    • Julie
      December 6, 2016 at 10:23 am

      ABSOLUTELY. That would be delicious!

  7. Valarie
    December 6, 2016 at 9:26 pm

    As soon as I saw this, I had to rush home and make it. So good! I want to try it with orange and cranberry next.

  8. Meta4
    December 6, 2016 at 11:54 pm

    Made this today. Fantastic…Amazingly good…these are a keeper.

  9. Heather
    December 11, 2016 at 10:08 am

    Oh my goodness! These are fantastic!

    • Julie
      December 14, 2016 at 1:30 pm

      SO glad you liked them heather!!

  10. Tegan
    January 7, 2017 at 2:47 pm

    Just baked and now cooling – they look amazing!!

  11. Beth
    October 20, 2017 at 9:06 am

    I just made these and they are DELICIOUS. I added extra cranberries for extra tartness. Thanks for the amazing recipe!!

  12. Jennifer
    December 13, 2017 at 12:56 pm

    Just made these for guests last night…perfect dessert! They are fabulous.

  13. Steph
    December 17, 2017 at 8:17 pm

    So good and not tricky at all to make! I added white chocolate chips since I had some left over in my pantry. And it freezes so well. Great for making ahead and bringing to a holiday party later!

  14. Dee
    December 19, 2017 at 2:46 pm

    Can these be doubled and made in a 9 x 13 pan

    • Julie
      December 19, 2017 at 8:38 pm

      I think it should work?

  15. Vicki
    November 29, 2018 at 1:37 pm

    These are as easy as you claim and even more delicious.

  16. Rosemary Killeen
    December 11, 2018 at 12:35 pm

    Made these for the annual cookie exchange at work – were a hit!

  17. Amanda
    January 12, 2019 at 1:02 pm

    I was looking to use up some fresh cranberries we had left-over from Christmas and decided to try this recipe. It comes together quickly and is delicious. I can definitely attest to that since I ate about half the bars 🙂

    Next time I make this recipe I’d like it to be just a little more tart – I’m thinking of upping the cranberries to 2 cups, but Julie I was wondering if you had any ideas on how to make the lemon curd itself less sweet? I hesitate to reduce the sugar or add more lemon because I don’t want to throw off the consistency, but maybe that’s not too much of a concern?

    Thanks for the great recipe!

    • Julie
      January 14, 2019 at 10:08 pm

      So glad you liked it! definitely up the cranberries, and you could reduce the sugar a bit for sure, but I wouldn’t go more than a third on your first try.

  18. Elise
    October 9, 2019 at 3:25 pm

    Coconut sweetened or no?

  19. Paula
    December 1, 2019 at 3:10 pm

    Hi Julie! Should the coconut be sweetened or unsweetened?

    • Julie
      December 5, 2019 at 6:36 am

      Either works fine!

  20. Sera
    December 2, 2019 at 5:17 am

    Am I understanding correctly, the cranberries fresh and not precooked ?

    • Julie
      December 5, 2019 at 6:35 am

      That’s right!

  21. Wendy Krs
    December 19, 2019 at 6:04 pm

    A friend brought these to a party and sent me the recipe. I just made them and they are divine!!!

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