Today’s recipe is from the big yellow, lacks-pictures-but-I-love-it-anyway, Gourmet Cookbook. In the book, these are called Cranberry Caramel Bars, but on Epicurious, they’re called Cranberry Turtle Bars.
I didn’t read the Epicurious reviews until after I’d finished making the bars, but I agree with those who felt the chocolate was not critical. It does add a nice finish, but next time I will drizzle it on in a much thinner stream.
As one Epicurious reviewer pointed out, these don’t have eggs and would be good for people with allergies. You could also sub Earth Balance Buttery Sticks and make these vegan, I suppose.....seems like it would work.
Cranberry Turtle Bars are very good, and I will make them again when I am less pressed for time. That means making them in the correct size pan (I halved the recipe and used a 9-inch square), chopping the cranberries and pecans properly, and drizzling the chocolate with more finesse. While this batch was a bit rough looking, the bars, which are tart, sweet and buttery, still taste great.
Recipe
Cranberry Turtle Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250 grams)
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar (100 grams)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks (170 grams)
Caramel Topping
- 2 sticks unsalted butter (230 grams)
- 1 ⅔ cups granulated sugar (330 grams)
- ¼ cup light corn syrup (80 grams)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups fresh or frozen cranberries coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups pecans, toasted, cooled and chopped
Garnish
- 2 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate not unsweetened, very finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Line a 15x10 inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper.
- Combine the flour, brown sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse once or twice to mix. Add the butter and pulse until crumbly. Pour into the pan, press down flat and bake for 15 to 17 minutes.
- Melt butter in a saucepan, then add sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil and boil gently until mixture reaches 245 F on deep fry thermometer.
- Add cranberries (be careful, as the cold berries will cause the caramel to spatter), then boil until caramel returns to 245°F. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and pecans until evenly coated.
- Before it starts to set, quickly spread caramel topping over base. Let cool completely.
- Lift bars from pan and cut into 6 crosswise strips, then 6 lengthwise strips to form 36 bars.
- Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave, then transfer to a heavy duty freezer bag, snip corner and pipe over the bars. Let stand (or chill) to set the chocolate.
carole says
These are great, Anna. How about using dried tart cherries and a white chocolate drizzle for valentines day.
Anna says
Hi Keith,
I hope you post a picture on your site. Also, congratulations on your acceptance to Johnson & Wales. I had no idea they had a campus in North Carolina.
About the runniness, is there a chance your caramel didn't quite hit 245 both times. After I added the frozen cranberries, I noticed the temp went down quite a bit and I had to cook the mixture for another 4 minutes or so.
CookieMonster says
This site is fabulous! Just came across it, and will be a regular visitor!
Sue says
Thank you for that link!! That blog is really fascinating and she has put a ton of work into it! I love the part where she has it all indexed! I'm going to get out my book, and compare the things I've tried and my results to hers.
VeggieGirl says
oooh, these bars sound lovely - great to hear that they're easy to veganize!
Anna says
Sue, if you like that cookbook you will love this.
http://thegourmetproject.blogspot.com/
Sue says
I also love that cookbook, even though it doesn't have pictures. I own several great cookbooks without pictures. Pretty pictures are good, but great recipes are even better.
I have all of the ingredients for these bars. I should give them a try. Right now I have quick cinnamon biscuits in the oven from the Moosewood Restaurant New Classics cookbook. (Another good cookbook with no pictures.) I hope the biscuits are good.