12 Days Of Cookies: Cranberry Streusel Bars

It's cookie season and people all around the world are baking, cutting, sprinkling, wrapping, and giving out all kinds of different cookies. To celebrate this festive time of the year and to bring you some new inspiration, we're sharing 12 cookie recipes with you, one every day from now until Christmas Eve. These aren't just any old cookie recipes, either — they're recipes from cookie and history-enthusiast Anna Ginsberg and her cookbook The Daily Cookie, which is filled with 365 cookie recipes that honor and celebrate notable events throughout history. Along with giving you something new to bake in the kitchen, these 12 days of cookies give you a chance to win a copy of the book every day we share a recipe, so you'll be able to enjoy a cookie recipe every day of the year, not just right before Christmas. 

Today's cookies are Cranberry Streusel Bars, in honor of Benjamin Franklin and his love for cranberries. Franklin's fondness for the berry is significant today, Dec. 19, because it marks the anniversary of Poor Richard's Almanack, which he wrote under the pseudonym Richard Saunders in 1732. Along with reporting information on the weather, astronomy, and humorous proverbs, the best-seller also mentioned his love for cranberries more than once, which brings us to these bars made with cream cheese, lemon juice, and whole-berry cranberry sauce.

Click here to see the recipe for Cranberry Streusel Bars

Want more cookie recipes like this one? Tweet this (up to once a day): I just entered to win a copy of The Daily Cookie from @TheDailyMeal & @AndrewsMcMeel #12DaysofCookies bit.ly/V6MR6l — and a collection of 365 cookie recipes may be yours.

Anne Dolce is the Cook Editor at The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @anniecdolce