Orange cranberry curd bars that are not only smooth but also tart, balanced on top of orange pistachio shortbread.
Shortbread Crust– 160g or 1 cup plus ¼ cup all purpose flour– 50g or ¼ cup g granulated sugar– 30g or ¼ cup g powdered sugar– Zest of 2 blood oranges or 1 orange– 140g or 10 tablespoons g unsalted butter cold or softened is fine– ½ cup pistachios shelled (optional)Orange Cranberry Filling– 340 g fresh cranberrie– 210g or 1 cup sugar– 110g or 1/2 cup blood orange or orange juice, Zest from the orange from 2 blood oranges or 1 large orange– 3 large egg– 85g or 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
INGREDIENTS
━━━━━━━━━━
INSTRUCTION
Heat oven to 350 F for crust. Prepare a 9" square pan by parchmenting all sides (plus for lifting). Process all shortbread ingredients on high until a ball forms.
STEP 1 .
Dough to pan bottom. Slowly press it in with the back of a measuring cup (flour to prevent sticking). Baking crust takes 30 minutes.
STEP 2.
Cranberries, sugar, orange zest, and juice in a pot. Stir then heat on medium. Cook for 10 minutes to burst most of the cranberries.
STEP 3.
Puree with an immersion blender or food processor. Press the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Add eggs and whisk quickly. If your cranberry mix is hot, whisk it slowly into the eggs.
STEP 4.
Return mixture to pot and stir constantly until curd thickens, keeping thermometer below 170 F. Put butter pats in a bowl with a fine mesh sieve over it.
STEP 5.
Press the curd through the sieve and scrape the bottom to get all of it. Use a clean spoon to melt butter and smooth curd. After baking, pour cranberry mix over crust.
STEP 6.
Return to oven for 12-15 minutes until pan shakes only in the center. Serve after cooling at room temperature and refrigerating for four hours.