4 Ingredient Cranberry Squares

When a holiday recipe is this easy and this inexpensive, you simply have to make it! These 4 Ingredient Cranberry Squares are deliciously chewy – much like bread! – but so good! The sweetness is well balanced with the tartness of the cranberries!

Who doesn’t love cookie squares?  And, who doesn’t love an easy recipe?  A budget-friendly recipe?  And more importantly, a delicious recipe?  I think we can all agree that those things are all important when cooking and baking. With all of that said, let me introduce you to these 4 Ingredient Cranberry Squares!

Lord Byron’s Kitchen is no stranger to a good cookie recipe, but I tend to favour squares over cookies.  I find that squares tend to be more moist and just tastier in general. My love of squares over cookies probably stems from my mom.  She would very often make square-type desserts, but very rarely did she make cookies.  Most homes have moms that make chocolate chip cookies or peanut butter cookies, but not mine.

My mom made Hershey’s Copycat Eat More Fudge Bars, Walnut Oh Henry Bars, Newfoundland Date Squares, or my personal favourite, Coconut Square Chewies!

WELCOME TO A LORD BYRON CHRISTMAS!

I’m going to tell you all about this recipe and how you can make it in your home this holiday season, but first, I want to tell you about what you can expect from Lord Byron’s Kitchen this Christmas. I know we’re getting closer to the big day, so it’s time to get to the holiday-themed recipes! Over the past decade, I have built a reputation for sharing series-type recipes. The most popular would be my annual 24 Cookies of Christmas, which was fashioned after an advent calendar. But, I have others that are only 12 days, which were fashioned after the 12 Days of Christmas.

This particular recipe is a part of my second holiday series for this year. So, welcome, Dear Reader, to Lord Byron’s 12 Holiday Cranberry Recipes Series. Just like every other series that I’ve shared over the years, this one will also see a new recipe shared each day for the next 12 days – even on Saturday and Sunday! You might be asking yourself, how many Christmas recipes could one possibly have or need? Well, I say you can never have too much of a good thing. And, I love having lots of choices. Who wants to prepare the same holiday recipes year after year?

SUBSCRIBE NOW AND NEVER MISS ANOTHER RECIPE!

Traditionally, every year I share a series of recipes that you might already be familiar with. For example, I’ve previously shared 12 Holiday Trifles, 12 Holiday Bars & Squares, and even these 12 Edible Holiday Wreath recipes! Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! And, just in case you’re curious, you can see previous annual posts for my 24 Cookies of Christmas Series here!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Canned Condensed Milk – This recipe has not been tested with low-fat condensed milk.  Depending on where you live, the size of the can may differ.  Be sure to have the full 14 ounces!
• Orange Extract
• Cranberries
• Self-raising Flour – This is basically just a regular all-purpose flour that has salt and baking powder already mixed into it.  If you don’t have any on hand, you can make your own by mixing 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder and ¼ teaspoon of salt into every cup of flour you need for your recipe.
• Confectioner’s Sugar – This superfine sugar is sometimes called powdered sugar.  It’s used in frostings quite often.  When dusted lightly onto cakes and cookies, it adds just a touch of sweetness, but more importantly, it looks very visually appealing!

HOW TO MAKE 4 INGREDIENT CRANBERRY SQUARES

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a square 9×9 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside. In a large bowl, use a sturdy spoon or spatula to stir together the sweetened condensed milk, orange extract, chopped cranberries, and self-raising flour until combined.

Transfer batter to lined cake pan. The batter is very sticky! Press the batter into the pan, being sure to get into the corners. Try to get the top as evenly flat as possible. I found that dipping my finger tips in water and shaking off the excess, allowed me to press the batter without leaving too much of it sticking to my hands.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before removing from pan. Cut into 24 squares and dust with confectioner’s sugar if you so desire. Enjoy! By the way, the dusting of confectioner’s sugar is optional which is why this is a 4 ingredients recipe and not 5!

SELF-RAISING FLOUR

Don’t have any self-raising flour? Don’t you worry, Dear Reader, we can fix that! Self-raising flour is just a store-bought item that you can easily make at home. In a nutshell, self-raising flour is an all-purpose flour that has salt and baking powder mixed right in.

There is no need to run out and buy it if you don’t want to. You can make your own, but please be warned! I think the already mixed stuff that you buy at the store works just a bit better than a homemade version.

To make self-raising flour, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of very fine salt to 1 cup of flour. That’s the ratio you will need. Since you need 1 1/4 cups of self-raising flour for this recipe, 1 3/4 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt will work just fine. It doesn’t need to be exact!

SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK

I have a lot of recipes here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen with sweetened condensed milk as one of the ingredients. (Click here to see them!) Growing up in Newfoundland, it was always something I’ve been aware of. But, that’s not the case for everyone. I get many questions from readers about it. For someone not familiar with gooey, sticky canned milk, it might be easily confused with canned Carnation condensed milk, for instance. Let me explain what it is here.

So, first of all, it’s condensed. The milk is condensed by removing water. This can be accomplished by applying heat. The water will evaporate causing the milk to condense, which thickens the milk. Sugar is added to sweeten the condensed milk. The main purpose of adding sugar is to prolong the shelf life of condensed milk, which can sit on room-temperature shelves for years. Sugar prevents microorganisms from growing in the milk and helps to thicken it even further—it’s added after the milk has been boiled, reduced, and pasteurized.

If you find unsweetened condensed milk, it’s most likely that it’s simply evaporated milk or condensed milk, which is thick, but not gooey and sticky. Evaporated milk is often used as a cream added to tea or coffee. If you are unfamiliar with it, please read the can carefully. Also, shake it – can you feel the liquid splashing about inside the can? If so, it’s not sweetened condensed milk; it’s evaporated or condensed milk only!

O CRANBERRY, CRANBERRY, WHEREFORE ART THOU CRANBERRY?

Have you been reading my blog for any length of time? If you have, you will already be aware of what I’m about to discuss. If you haven’t, it’s important that you understand how frustrating it can be to be a food blogger at times. Food bloggers are always working ahead of schedule. When it comes to Christmas recipes, for example, we are baking cakes and cookies as early as September! In fact, I finished the recipe you’re reading here and the photographs you’re seeing in November 2025!

We do this so that we can test the recipes to make sure that they will work for you at home. The recipe needs to be plated and styled. Photographs need to be taken. We have to write up the post and make sure we please the folks at Google, otherwise, our recipes run the risk of being buried in cyberspace somewhere. There are many other steps that I’m skipping here, but all of it is to say that we need the time to get the recipes out to you a few weeks before you need them.

Now, as a huge fan of Christmas baking – the 400+ Christmas recipes here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen are proof of that – there’s one thing that frustrates me every single year. There’s a tremendous lack of things like fresh cranberries for many months of the year. Don’t even get me started on holiday confections like Hershey’s chocolate or candy canes! I do hope that you try this recipe and that it is easy for you to find fresh cranberries where you live!

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!

Finally, as I stated previously, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection of Christmas Recipes right here! There are over 200 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!