Holiday Cranberry-Orange Pistachio Bars

I want to focus on holiday recipes and entertaining over the next few weeks, and I’ve been lining up some good stuff to share. I can’t wait! I love the holiday season. Christmas is definitely my favorite holiday of the year.

I love all the delicious food, but the only problem is not much of it is healthy for you. Several of the holiday recipes I have are healthy for you, starting with the one I’m sharing today from “Go Green with Pistachios.” They have a whole roundup of great healthy holiday recipes featuring pistachios. These cranberry-orange pistachio bars are one of the recipes they have there.

They also have healthy holiday eating tips, and diet saving tips to help you stay on your healthy eating plan. I’ll be back to share more about that another day. Today lets get on with this yummy recipe.

Studded with cranberries and pistachios, this tart-and-tangy bar cookie is a beautiful addition to your holiday cookie platter and a great make-ahead option. They’re easier to cut after refrigerating or freezing.

Holiday Cranberry-Orange Pistachio Bars
from: Eating Well

Yield: 16 bars
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 1/4 hours (not including cooling time)

Ingredients

Crust

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2/3 cup whole-wheat pastry flour (see Note)
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt

Topping

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen, thawed, coarsely chopped (see Tip)
• 1/3 cup pistachios, preferably unsalted, chopped and toasted (see Tip)

Instructions

1. To prepare crust: Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Coat an 8-inch-square baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Beat butter, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and brown sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Stir in whole-wheat flour, 1/3 cup all-purpose flour and salt until well combined (the mixture will still be crumbly). Evenly press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until just barely golden around the edges, 10 to 12 minutes.
3. To prepare topping: Combine 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Add egg, egg white, orange zest and juice; stir until blended and smooth.
4. Sprinkle cranberries over the baked crust. Pour the orange mixture over the cranberries and sprinkle with pistachios.
5. Bake until golden and set, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack; if possible, chill before cutting into squares.

Note

Whole-wheat pastry flour is milled from soft wheat. It contains less gluten than regular whole-wheat flour and helps ensure a tender result in delicate baked goods while providing the nutritional benefits of whole grains.

Tips

• To make quick work of chopping cranberries, place whole berries in a food processor and pulse a few times until the berries are coarsely chopped.
• To toast chopped pistachios: Cook in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

Make Ahead Tip

• Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Scaling Disclaimer: EatingWell recipes are tested extensively in the EatingWell Test Kitchen. EatingWell cannot guarantee a recipe that has been scaled to make a different number of servings from the original. Also note that scaling only applies to the ingredient measurements: no adjustment is made to the recipe instructions, so pan sizes and cooking times and ingredient amounts referred to in the text of the recipe only apply to the original number of servings.

Image and recipe: Eating Well