A sweet, chewy sugar cookie dough blended with mandarin orange zest and studded with tart dried cranberries, creamy white chocolate chips and crunchy pecans baked in to an easy to share bar cookie.
Today I’m share another cookie I developed for Pillsbury that would be perfect for holiday cookie exchanges. This cookie uses Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough for the base and you mix in mandarin orange zest, dried cranberries, pecans, and white chocolate chips.
Mandarin oranges are in season again and we love keeping a bowl of them on the counter for quick snacks. Mandarin orange juice and zest are great addition to baked goods. The zest adds a bright fresh flavor to this cookie dough. If mandarin oranges aren’t in season or you don’t have any on hand, orange zest would be a great addition as well.
I have a long watermelon knife
that I like to use cut bar cookies. It cuts an entire row with one cut. If I’m making the bar cookies for company, I’ll use a ruler so I can make sure my bars all the same szie.
These dressed up sugar cookie bars are perfect for the holidays, and no one will know that you used a shortcut to create these delicious, homemade treats.
White Chocolate Cranberry Pecan Bars
Ingredients
- 1 roll 16.5 oz Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough
- ¼ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon mandarin orange zest
- ½ cup white chocolate chips
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup pecans chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°
- In large mixing bowl, add all ingredients and mix until the dough forms large clumps.
- Press dough firmly into a greased or foil lined 8x8 pan.
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely, about 2 hours before cutting in to 4 rows by 4 rows.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Pillsbury, but all opinions expressed are always my own.
Nagi@RecipeTinEats
Now this one definitely has good combination of flavors! Cranberries and pecans? Yum! 🙂 Love this!
Nutmeg Nanny
Oh my goodness, what a perfect combination of flavors 🙂 I love this recipe!!!
Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles
I love all those ingredients, and can’t resist a good bar…love these!
Jamie
Yes yes yes yes and I have to make these. And share on my Life’s a Feast FB page. Thank you! Love the chocolate (dark)-cranberry-pecan combo. Love it!
Angie@Angie's Recipes
White chocolate and cranberries…two great holiday ingredients. These bars look irresistible!
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef
I’m glad to know someone else measures her bars. 🙂 These look terrific, Barbara.
Melissa B
I love cranberries and pecans! These sound and look delicious!
Pinned to my Dessert board!
Carol
Those are some delicious looking bars-and what a great time saver using refrigerated cookie dough. I love that combination……Mmmmmmm!
Thank you Barbara. 🙂
Lana @ Never Enough Thyme
I absolutely love the combination of orange, cranberry, chocolate, and pecans you’ve used in this recipe, Barbara. And I’m never one to turn down the shortcut of using a refrigerated dough 🙂 Fantastic recipe.
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie
I love white chocolate and cranberry together. Great bar recipe!
Kim Beaulieu
I could really sink my teeth into a plate of these. They look absolutely scrumptious. xx
Laura @ Lauras Baking Talent
These look great. I wish I had a watermelon knife like that. I’ve never seen one before 🙂
2 Sisters Recipes
What a great idea to use the sugar cookies as a short cut! Now this is my kind of recipe and they are perfect for serve for the holidays. Thanks for sharing!
Rosa
Wonderful! I cannot resist bars and anything that is made with pecans.
Cheers,
Rosa