Cranberry Crumble Bars

These are fabulous little shortbread bars made with pecans and filled with the blackberry/cranberry sauce I made for Thanksgiving. They are very easy to make and only require a few ingredients. After they cool, I like to slice them into little squares and package them in Christmas tins for friends at work. I think they are much better after they've been chilled in the fridge a day or two. They are also much less crumbly and easier to handle! The tartness in the cranberry filling really complements the sweetness of the shortbread while adding holiday charm. The original recipe comes from Baking Bites and calls for a strawberry jam filling. However, the strawberry is a bit sweet for my tastes. Any high quality jam or fruit filling will do, so experiment! I've had great luck with apricot preserves.

Cranberry Crumble Bars
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup pecans, finely chopped
1 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
3/4 cup cranberry/blackberry sauce

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt and pecans, then stir in the butter and egg until mixture is crumbly, like coarse and wet sand. Set aside 2 cups of the mixture, and pour the remaining mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Press down gently, but firmly, into an even layer.
Spread strawberry jam over the shortbread layer. Sprinkle remaining crumbs evenly over the top. If the mixture is too wet to sprinkle, simply break it up with lightly floured fingers and spread it out.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, until lightly browned.
Cool bars in the pan before slicing.

Makes 24 small bars.