Chocolate Cranberry Bars

Sweet, tart, delicious Chocolate Cranberry Bars made from fresh or frozen cranberries. Freeze a few bags of cranberries to enjoy this treat year round!

Cranberries Have a Short Season – Stock Up While You Can!

I may or may not be a hoarder of cranberries. No judging. They’re one of my favorite fruits and they’re only available for a few months.  

In case you didn’t know – cranberry prices drop like crazy after the holidays. Another FYI – those little baggies freeze perfectly. Just throw them in the freezer – as is. It doesn’t get any easier then that. I watch the prices drop and then load up. First sale was $1.00 a bag – I grabbed a few. Second sale was 3 for $1.00 – so I grabbed 6. With 10 bags of cranberries in my freezer, it’s time to get to using them. These Cranberry Chocolate Oat Bars are a great start.

Want more cranberry recipes? (Yes!!!) Check out these Cranberry Chocolate Chip Muffins & this Cranberry Cheesecake – both made with fresh cranberries!

Prep & Cook the Cranberries

I don’t bother thawing the cranberries if frozen. I pick off any stems & rinse them in a colander. Into the saucepan they go, followed by sugar and water over medium heat. Stir over medium heat, lower if it gets too bubbly, for about 15-20 minutes. You want a jam-like consistency with most of the berries “popped”.

Let the Cranberry Cool – Start the Batter & Assemble

You can mix everything else up as the cranberry cools down a bit. Set aside a heaping 1 1/2 cup of the batter for topping. Prep a baking dish with cooking spray. Some people like to set up the dish with aluminum foil or parchment paper for dessert bars such as this. Forget all that. I’m not into making any more work than necessary. Spray the dish with an even layer of baking spray. Wipe with paper towel to remove excess and distribute evenly if necessary. That’s it. These bars will come out effortlessly – just let them cool off completely.

Layer everything up in your baking dish. Using a spatula or the back of a spoon, spread/pat down batter. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over and cover with the cranberry. Spoon tablespoons of the reserved 1 1/2 cup of batter over the cranberry and try to spread/pat it out a little. This gets a little tricky – it’s thick and sticky. You’re not trying to get the whole top evenly covered – the batter will spread out and puff up a bit.

Bake in a 350° oven for 35 – 40 minutes or until top is light golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack. I mean COMPLETELY. Remember how I said that these bars will come out effortlessly. They will. Just forget about them for 4-5 hours and then cut into it, loosening the edges with a knife.

Time to Enjoy!

Cut into bars & get at them!

These Cranberry Chocolate Chip Oat Bars are out of this world! The cranberries loose just a tad of their bite – perfect amount of sweetness and tartness. Then comes the chocolate.  

I love the sweet, tart and bold flavors of cranberries combined with the decadence of chocolate. Together they’re almost reminiscent of cherries & chocolate.

Hope you enjoy – thanks for stopping by!

Amanda ♥

Recipe inspired from allrecipes.com

Chocolate Cranberry Bars

Amanda

Sweet, tart, delicious Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oat Bars made from fresh or frozen cranberries. Freeze a few bags of berries to enjoy this treat year round

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course baked goods

Servings 16 -20 servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 12 oz bag of whole cranberries
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 cup all – purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 cup butter melted
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (I prefer dark) generous

Instructions

 

• In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the cranberries, 1 cup granulated sugar, and water.
• Cook, stirring occasionally until all of the cranberries have popped, and the mixture is thick and a jam-like consistency, about 15 – 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool.
• Preheat the oven to 350° Prep a 13X9 glass baking dish (I suggest Pam/baking spray)
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar and baking powder until combined.
• Add remainder of dry ingredients (ginger, cinnamon, rolled oats and brown sugar) and mix well.
• Add vanilla extract, milk, melted butter and eggs to dry mixture. Stir until combined.
• Set aside a heaping 1 1/2 cups of the mixture, and spread the rest into the bottom of the prepped 13×9 baking dish. Pat down with a spatula to form an even, firm layer.
• Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over bottom layer.
• Spread the cooled cranberry mixture over the chocolate chips.
• Spoon tablespoons of the reserved batter over the cranberry and try to spread/pat it out a little. You’re not trying to get the whole top evenly covered – the batter will spread out and puff up a bit while baking.
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned.
• Cool completely on a wire rack. After 4-5 hours, cut into bars and enjoy : )

Keyword cranberry

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!