With bright flecks of red, white, and green, these delectable Christmas Jewel Squares are rustic, fancy, and impressive all at the same time!
Christmas Jewel Squares have it all and they’re the perfect Christmas treat!
These beauties are packed with two types of chocolate, lots of dried fruit and nuts, and tastes like a chocolate chip cookie that has been wrapped in a fruitcake and smothered in a gooey sugar bath. Did I just go too far?
Last Christmas, I posted a similar recipe called Magic Cookie Bars, but this year, I wanted to update them and make them a little more festive.
If you’ve been following my blog for long, you’ll notice that with me, there are ingredient trends. I tend to find one particular ingredient that I become fixated with and every recipe that comes out of my kitchen tends to incorporate that one particular ingredient. This year, it’s glace cherries.
One can’t help but notice first the sweet, sugary taste of these cherries. But I think the beautiful jewel-like colours of these gems are often overlooked. There’s nothing like the bright glistening reds and greens of these confections to make a Christmas-themed baked good pop and stand out.
Wouldn’t you agree? Look at how gorgeous these are; just the perfect little bite of Christmas without the fuss associated with most holiday baking. That, Dear Reader, is my gift to you.
I trust you’ll enjoy these just as much as I did. I hope you’ll come back and send me a note once you’ve had time to share these with your family and friends! #merrychristmas
Christmas Jewel Squares
Pin Recipe Save Recipe Print RecipeIngredients
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 2 cups graham crumbs
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 cup coconut flakes
- 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- ½ cup dried blueberries
- ½ cup dried cranberries, chopped
- ½ cup red glace cherries, chopped
- ½ cup green glace cherries, chopped
- 14 ounces canned condensed sweet milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare a 9×9″ pan by lightly greasing the sides with butter and layering parchment paper in the bottom. Set aside.
- Place the butter and graham crumbs in a bowl and stir with a spoon until the butter and crumbs have been fully incorporated.
- Lightly press the graham crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Do not press too firmly, just lightly and enough to create a solid base.
- Sprinkle over the white chocolate chips and the semi-sweet chocolate chips as evenly as possible.
- Drizzle over the entire can of condensed milk.
- Next, evenly distribute the toppings in the following order: coconut flakes, pecans, walnuts, dried blueberries, dried cranberries, green glace cherries, red glace cherries, and almonds
- Bake for 30 minutes. When the condensed milk is golden brown and starting to bubble, remove from oven and allow to fully cool before cutting into even-sized squares.
Notes
Diane Madeley says
They look stunning and I hope to make some myself. I can’t believe that the pictures you show have been baked for 30 minutes though, as the nuts have not browned at all, especially the almonds, which normally brown quickly as when they are toasted. How did you get that lovely white look to the almonds?
Regards, Diane.
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Hi Diane! Thank you. The nuts (almonds) were baked right on top of the squares just like you see in the pictures. They browned very slightly, but did not get too dark.
Cindy says
I made these in a 9×9 pan like the recipe suggests but the crust was very thick…my thoughts are a 9×13 pan might work better. Also pouring the sweetened condensed milk over the middle layer doesn’t secure the nuts and top fruit to the bar so they are very crumbly. My suggestion would be to pour the sweetened condensed milk 1/2 over the middle layer and 1/2 over the fruit and nut layer to adhere the top ingredients to the base. These squares look amazing but are not nice to eat because everything falls off. I won’t make them again unless I alter the procedure to see if that works better.
Melanie says
I agree – the 9×9 pan is too small (they are super thick in that size) and the nuts & fruit layer are all crumbly on top – I’m thinking if I make them again I would also want to try 1/2 the sweetened condensed milk (where the full amount is in the recipe) and the other 1/2 nearee the top to see if it would hold together.
Gina Poulin says
Can we freeze this recipe?
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Hi Gina – yes, you can. 🙂
Dianne says
I’ve been making this jewel bar recipe for over 25 yrs ago when I owned a bakery and is still my favourite Xmas slice!! Ingenious may slight vary in ounces per ingredient but still the same delicious slice
Karen says
I agree with those saying a 9 x 13 pan might be better. Also splitting the condensed milk as mentioned. They look nice in the pan but the top falls off when trying to cut and serve. Will make changes if making them again.
Heather says
I made these lasg year and just made another pan again this morning. This recipe is on my Christmas baking list. I LOVE it!
I have noticed the issue with crumble. And to combat that, this time I Coates a spatula in oil and right when I took the pan out of the oven I gently smooshed the top into the milkly layer. Problem solved.
One question, Do I have to store these in the freezer or will they be okay on the countertop?