It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is almost here! My husband loves to cook, and he wanted to make something fun to bring to my family’s Thanksgiving dinner. He came across this recipe for Chewy White Chocolate Cranberry Cookie Bars on Chew Out Loud’s blog and decided to make it with Buddy. It’s perfect because they were easy to pack up and bring with us in the car. And of course, it’s always nice to have additional sweets around during the holiday.
Buddy loves to bake, so he was excited to help. The original recipe makes enough for a 8 x 8 pan, but we decided to double it and put it in a 13 x 9 pan. My husband started by cracking two eggs in a bowl, and Buddy beat them for him. 
Then they poured the eggs into the mixer along with a stick of softened, salted butter. Next, they put 1 and 1/3 cup of brown sugar into a measuring cup, and Buddy helped to pack it down. 
Once they measured the sugar, they added it to the mixing bowl along with 2 teaspoons vanilla. Buddy got to turn on the mixer, which he loved. It made Buddy feel like a real chef to be the one to turn the mixer on and off.
Next, they added 1 and 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the mixer, and then mixed everything together. Finally, they mixed in 2 cups of fresh cranberries and a cup of white chocolate chunks. My husband and Buddy worked together to mix those last two ingredients into the batter.
The cranberry bar dough went into a greased 13 x 9 pan, which was also lined with parchment paper. They spread the dough out evenly, and then it baked for 35 minutes at 350 degrees. (The recipe says to go 30-33 minutes or until it is golden brown and puffy.)
Once the cookie has cooled, it needs to be cut into bars and topped with melted white chocolate. The final product looked fantastic, and tasted amazing! The fresh cranberries really give it great flavor, and the white chocolate was a great balance of sweetness. My family had a lot of fun making them together, and I’m looking forward to sharing them at Thanksgiving tomorrow!
