White Chocolate Cranberry Pecan Bars

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.

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Yield: 16 bar cookies

White Chocolate Cranberry Pecan Bars

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon mandarin orange zest
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. In large mixing bowl, add all ingredients and mix until the dough forms large clumps.
3. Press dough firmly into a greased or foil lined 8x8 pan.
4. 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.