Cranberry and Meyer Lemon Bars {gluten free, dairy free, and soy free!}

These bars... oh my! I really love cranberries, but I'm a bit timid when it comes to using them in the kitchen. I may have broken through that barrier with this sweet treat!

Thanks to the lemon and cranberry flavors, the bars aren't syrupy sweet, and they're not too rich. They're moist and bursting with flavor.

Confession: I ate a bar this morning with my tea. Life is short, right?

Let's get to it! Here's what you need to know to make your own pan of cranberry lemon bars:

Ingredients:
3 C. Gluten Free AP Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Xanthan Gum
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 C. Earth Balance Spread
1 C. Sugar
Zest of One Meyer Lemon
1 Egg
2 tsp. Vanilla
1/4 C. Cool Water

1 Bag of Cranberries {12 oz., mine were frozen}
1/2 C. Sugar
2 Tbsp. Corn Starch
Juice of One Meyer Lemon

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt. Stir ingredients to mix, and then, with your hand mixer, add Earth Balance. Mix the ingredients to break up the Earth Balance.
Add sugar and zest, and give the bowl another spin with your mixer.
Add egg and vanilla, and mix again. You'll have a bowl of crumbled dough at this point.
Slowly add the 1/4 cup water, mixing as you go. The ingredients will pull together into a ball. I used the entire 1/4 cup, but you may find that you need a bit less.

Line a 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper, and press half of the dough into the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine cranberries, sugar, and corn starch. Stir the mixture to coat the berries, and then add lemon juice. Stir again to combine, and then spread the cranberry mixture over the dough you pressed into the baking dish.

Top the cranberries with the remaining dough by crumbling it up and bit or spreading it into thin pieces to lay over the berries. It's perfectly alright if you can see the berries through the dough in places!

Bake the bars at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and the center is set. Cool completely, then use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan and cut into squares. Store, covered, in the fridge.