CRUST:

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup 10x sugar
1 1/2 cups flour

CREAM CHEESE & CRANBERRY FILLING:

1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, cut into pieces, at room temperature
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbs cornstarch
1 tbs light brown sugar
1 (16 oz) can whole cranberry sauce

TOPPING:

1/3 cup flour
2 tbs light brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chillled
1 cup finely chopped walnuts OR almonds

preheat the oven to 350 degrees. spray or grease a 9″x13″ baking pan.

prepare the crust. in a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter and 10x sugar for 2 minutes, or until light. beat in the flour until the dough resembles coarse crumbs.

press the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. bake in the center of the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the crust begins to color.

meanwhile, prepare the filling. in another medium bowl, using the electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until fluffy. beat in the condensed milk and lemon juice. pour the filling over the hot baked crust.

in a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and brown sugar. stir in the cranberry sauce. spoon the mixture evenly over the cheese layer.

prepare the topping. in a medium bowl, mix together the flour and brown sugar. cut in the butter to make coarse crumbs. stir in the nuts. sprinkle evenly over the cranberry layer.

bake until the topping is golden, about 25-30 minutes. remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

using a small sharp knife, cut into bars.

makes 24 bars