Cranberries and orange…….a match made in heaven…….or in Cranberry Orange Brownies!
Tart ruby red and delicious cranberries, harvested from bogs when cold weather arrives and available throughout the winter months. Fresh cranberries are a signature fresh fruit of autumn and early winter.
The combination of tart cranberries sweetened with oranges, another fruit of winter, is a classic flavor pairing in baking.
Blond brownies are a tasty treat in their own right, but add the tart of the cranberry and sweet bright citrus of the orange, and you have a fall dessert treat that is sure to please.
A basic brownie batter…butter, sugar, eggs, flour, vanilla, a bit of orange flavoring, those beautiful berries, and orange zest. Sprinkled with a bit of my favorite turbaned sugar that gives a nice sugary crunch to the top. Baked to a perfect golden brown.
Cranberry Orange Bownies are gooey, chewy, tart and sweet. The perfect fall dessert!
Cranberry Orange Brownies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon orange flavor extract
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 cups flour
- 1 3/4 cups fresh cranberries, divided
- 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
Instructions
- Beat the butter and brown sugar until creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla, and orange flavoring and beat again. Sift together the salt, baking powder, and flour. Slowly beat into the butter mixture. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the cranberries, and orange zest by hand.
- Spread the batter in a greased 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle the top with the extra 1/4 cup cranberries and turbinado sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 23-25 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into squares. Store in a sealed container.
Notes
made mine in a smaller pan for a thicker brownie. Adjust baking time if using a smaller pan.
Could this be made with gluten free flour and orange juice instead of extract?
I must admit I do not know a lot about gluten free baking, so I am unsure about the flour. If you have had success replace gluten free for regular flour I would say go ahead. As for the orange extract, if you use orange juice instead you won’t have the same orange flavor as the extract is pretty intense. Maybe just double up on the zest.