Cranberry Bars

Every year my sister and her husband prepare and serve a sit down dinner called, The Cargioli Ravioli Extravaganza. They make home made ravioli and spaghetti sauce and various other delicious Italian type soups and dishes and serve about 18 to 25 friends and family.

Last year I made these cranberry bars and my sister loved them so much she asked me to make them for all future Cargioli Ravioli Extravaganza dinners, thereby, creating a new tradition.

I found this recipe here on Elanaspantry.com blog. She is my favorite blogger for grain free baking. Check her blog out.

This is my adaptation of Elana's original recipe.

Cranberry Bars

Crust

Cranberry Bars

 Crust

• 2 cups raw pecans
• 20 dates, pitted
• 2 Tbs walnut oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

1. Place pecans and dates in food processor and pulse to coarsely ground.
2. Pulse in oil and sea salt until it begins to form a ball or pack together.
3. Press crust into an 8X11 pyrex dish. For a thicker crust and bar you could use an 8X8 dish.
4. Bake for 18 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly browned.
5. While crust is baking make the filling.

 Filling

• 6 cups fresh cranberries (discard the bad ones)
• 1 cup agave
• 1 Tbs orange zest

1. Clean and separate out bad cranberries
2. Place 4 cups of cleaned cranberries agave and orange zest in saucepan.
3. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, until cranberries start to dissolve.
4. Add remaining 2 cups cranberries and cook covered another 5 minutes.
5. Remove filling from stove and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
6. Pour filling over prepared crust.
7. Let cool for 60 to 90 minutes or overnight in refrigerator.
8. ENJOY!!