Cranberry Bars

Name: Cranberry Bars
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: about 2-1/2 dozen.
Ingredients: FILLING:; 3/4 cup sugar; 1/2 cup water; 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries; 1/4 cup orange juice; 1 tablespoon grated orange zest; 1 tablespoon butter; 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 cup chopped walnuts; CRUST:; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1-1/4 cups cold butter; 1 cup sugar; 3 cups quick-cooking oats

"I keep cranberries in my freezer all year so I can make these bars whenever I get a craving for their tart cranberry flavor," shares Betty Noga, Milwaukie, Oregon.

Ingredients

FILLING:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
CRUST:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups cold butter
1 cup sugar
3 cups quick-cooking oats

Directions

In a saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil. Add cranberries and cook until they pop, about 4-6 minutes. Add orange juice, orange zest, butter, cinnamon and salt. Cook 5 minutes longer or until mixture thickens. Remove from the heat; stir in walnuts and set aside.
For crust, combine the flour and salt in a bowl; cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add sugar and oats; mix well. Spoon half into an ungreased 13x9-in. baking pan; pat firmly into pan. Spread filling evenly over crust. Top with remaining crumb mixture; pat lightly.
Bake at 400° for 30-35 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Nutrition Facts

2 each: 413 calories, 22g fat (10g saturated fat), 43mg cholesterol, 242mg sodium, 50g carbohydrate (24g sugars, 3g fiber), 6g protein.

Originally published as Cranberry Bars in Country Woman November/December 1996

Reviews

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Average Rating:

gooch621

Jul 15, 2014

Good flavor, dry & crumbly crust.
jrolph

Apr 1, 2013

I like to see a picture of what I'm going to make, and this recipe didn't have one. (It may now?) It also only had 3 reviews, only 2 of which gave it a star rating. I had the ingredients available, and dislike any recipe calling for a cake mix, which this one did not. I decided to take the risk and make it for a fellowship potluck at my church.This recipe is excellent!! Sweet, but not overpoweringly so. I would consider these an "adult" sweet. I will make this again and again.What I did differently was use a food processor to incorporate the cold butter. It saved a lot of time and energy. I did not use it for the oats because I didn't want them pulverized. I also substituted lemon zest for the orange zest. I don't believe that substitution would make a noticeable difference in the recipe, but I didn't have fresh oranges on hand at the time.
Infosusan

Oct 11, 2012

Wonderfully tart and also forgiving.I made these bars on the first cool day of fall and they were and instant hit at work. The recipe was forgiving because instead of walnuts (that I was out of) I used cashews and instead of quick cooking oats I used old-fashioned oats and everything turned out fantastic. Next time I make them I might sprinkle some nuts on top of the bars before baking.
lpeters65251

Feb 10, 2010

I made these for a Super Bowl Party and they were winners. I added a small can of crushed pineapple to the filling and used the pineapple juice instead of water to cook the cranberries and substituted pecans for the walnuts. I also used half brown sugar and half white sugar for the crust. These will be a year round favorite of ours!