These keto Cranberry Bars boast a crunchy, buttery crust, topped with a sweet and tart cranberry layer and a toasty pecan streusel topping. Perfect for breakfast or a sweet treat, these will be your new favorite low carb cranberry bars!
Recently a fellow blogger put out a request for keto cranberry themed recipes for an upcoming roundup post, and I realized that I didn’t have very many to offer.
There were a couple of main dishes – like these festive turkey meatballs with cranberry glaze, and my cranberry apricot glazed ham, but no baked goods or keto treats of any kind that celebrated the beautiful and complex cranberry!
So I set out to remedy the problem last week and got to baking these incredibly tasty keto cranberry shortbread streusel bars. (Also a delicious keto cranberry coffee cake.)
This is the kind of easy keto bar recipe that I just love, since I’m not about spending hours fussing over impossibly pretty baked goods that will be devoured in minutes anyway.
The shortbread crust is similar to the one I use for my popular low carb Raspberry Linzer Cookie Bars, and is pressed into the pan with no rolling required. Meanwhile the cranberries are simmered on the stove until popped and thickened, then cooled slightly and spread over the partially baked crust.
A toasty layer of lightly cinnamon flavored streusel and chopped pecans adorns the top of these keto cranberry bars and pulls it all together into the most satisfying cookie bar I’ve eaten in AGES.
These fantastic keto cranberry shortbread bars go from start to finish in less than an hour, with very little hands on time required – so you can definitely get lots of other cooking, cleaning, or Netflix binge-watching done during the process!
In addition, these keto cranberry bars freeze really well – aaaand I personally recommend going the freezing route so that you don’t eat them all in less than 24 hours.
Not that I’d know from experience or anything. 🤨
Keto Cranberry Bars Recipe Notes:
I used Cointreau in my cranberry jelly, which is an orange flavored liqueur. You can substitute Grand Marnier or Triple Sec, or if you prefer to leave out the alcohol (it cooks off anyway, leaving just the flavor behind), you can sub 1/2 tsp orange extract or omit it altogether!
Xanthan gum is hard to get here in Belize, so I used arrowroot powder to thicken my cranberry jelly enough to set. You can use an equal amount of xanthan or guar gum to get the same results. If you omit it, this recipe will still work but the cranberry layer will be a little gooier – not necessarily a bad thing!
I just know you guys are going to enjoy these keto cranberry bars as much as we did, so please make them soon and report back to let us know how it went!
More Keto Cranberry Recipes
Keto Cranberry Orange Cheesecake
Keto Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
Keto Salmon with Cranberry Orange Butter
Festive Turkey Meatballs with Cranberry Glaze
Print
Keto Cranberry Bars with Streusel Topping
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 16 bars 1x
- Diet: Diabetic
Description
The perfect blend of sweet and tart, these keto cranberry bars will be your new favorite keto cookie! Low Carb & Gluten Free too
Ingredients
For the shortbread crust:
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 cups superfine almond flour
- 1/2 cup erythritol granulated sweetener
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
For the cranberry filling:
- 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1/2 cup erythritol granulated sweetener
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon Cointreau orange liquor (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon arrowroot powder (or xanthan or guar gum)
For the streusel topping:
- 1/3 crust mix (from above)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
For the crust:
- Combine all of the crust ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix well with a fork.
- Remove approximately 1/3 of the crust mix and set aside for the streusel topping.
- Press the remaining 2/3 of the crust mix into an 8×8 baking pan, preferably lined with parchment or foil for easier removal after baking.
- Bake in a 350 degree (F) preheated oven for 5 minutes.
- Remove and set aside.
For the cranberry filling:
- In a small saucepan, combine the cranberries, sweetener, water, Cointreau, and arrowroot powder and stir well.
- Bring to a boil and then simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.
- Stir and pop all of the cranberries that remained whole after cooking.
- Remove from heat and cool for about five minutes, or until no longer steaming.
- Spread the cranberry filling evenly over the partially baked shortbread crust.
For the streusel topping:
- Add the cinnamon and chopped pecans to the 1/3 crust mix you set aside earlier.
- Work with your fingers until clusters are formed.
- Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the cranberry layer.
- Bake the bars at 350 degrees (F) for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool before slicing.
Notes
To see a list of my favorite keto products and brands that I recommend for sweeteners, flours, etc. you can check out the IBIH Pantry Ingredients Page!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: keto Cookie Recipe
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 x 2 bar
- Calories: 136
- Fat: 11g
- Carbohydrates: 3g net
- Protein: 4g
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Jaine says
Delicious! They are so popular with my husband that I hid the last 3 for myself. He eats everything with sugar and then wants my keto desserts too! Thank you so much!
Mellissa Sevigny says
My husband does the same thing so I totally understand!
Jill says
How do you store these? On counter or in fridge? These are the perfect treat to pass out to friends. Just need to know if they need to be refrigerated. Thank you and thank you for all you do for all of us.
Mellissa Sevigny says
On the counter for a few days would be fine but any longer and I’d freeze them or keep them in the fridge for up to a week.
Rheta says
Perfect! There is only one problem. The pieces are too small, even for me, my plate was empty way too soon.
I knew before I made it that we would like it, so scaled it for a 9-inch pan. Next time it will be cut into 16 pieces instead of 20, just to prevent complaints from across the table.
Sue says
Pure heaven!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yay!
Alicia says
No fresh cranberries in Italy. I brought over some dried ones. Any experience using them?
Kelly says
Could I just do this as a crisp and eliminate the crust and do topping only?
Amy says
How much gelatin can I replace for the arrowroot powder? My store only carries large amounts for arrowroot at once.
Barbara says
This came out so good & was so easy to make! I tweaked the tipping just a little because I love crunchy topping & added 2 tbsp of brown Swerve to the mixture.Yum!
Mellissa Sevigny says
So happy you liked it!