These tart and tangy Cranberry Bars are one of my favorite treats.  I’ve been craving cranberries lately and this gluten free dessert more than hits the spot when it comes to mouth puckering goodness.

I first made these Cranberry Bars as a tart.  That was before Robyn and her children came over to have an afternoon of baking with us last week; she suggested making this as a bar, so it would more readily make an on-the-go type snack.  Robyn is an absolute genius on so many levels.

With a protein packed pecan crust and anti-oxidant rich cranberry topping this tangy treat is good for Christmas parties, Thanksgiving dessert, your child’s lunch or an on the run bite.

Cranberry Bars
1 cup raw pecans
5 dates, pitted
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
6 cups fresh cranberries, picked over (discard bad ones)
1 cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon orange zest

1. Place pecans and dates in a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground
2. Pulse in oil and salt until mixture begins to form a ball
3. Press crust into a greased 8 x 8 inch baking dish
4. Bake at 350° for 8-12 minutes until lightly browned
5. To make cranberry topping, place 4 cups cranberries, agave and orange zest in a pot on the stove
6. Bring mixture to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer 10-15 minutes, until cranberries start to dissolve
7. Add remaining 2 cups cranberries and cook covered for 5 more minutes
8. Remove mixture from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes
9. Pour mixture over pecan crust
10. Allow bars to set for 60-90 minutes
11. Serve

Have fun with this versatile delicious gluten free dessert that has fall written all over it.

I was so happy to be asked by blogs.com to list 10 Gluten Free Blogs.  Of course, this was far from an easy decision.  If you are a gluten free blogger and I did not mention you, please leave a comment below with a link to your site so that we can all check out your gluten free offerings.

Coincidentally, the lovely Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen also created a list of gluten free blogs for blogher.com.  Kalyn’s list is excellent and, like everything she does, it is well researched and very detailed.

We are buried in snow here today and school was canceled –it’s been snowing for 20 hours straight and we have accumulated feet, not inches.  I’ve been cozying up with my gluten free cookbook (The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook) for a good part of the day baking cookies while the boys build snow caves and sled down our street.  Feels like Christmas is here already!