Our family never eats all of the yummy homemade cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving, but we gobble these down over the next few days and look forward to them every year (even more than the cranberry sauce if I'm being honest). You can use this recipe with any type of fruit filling throughout the year too.
Ingredients:
2 C. old fashioned rolled oats
2 C. flour (you can do 1 C. white and 1 C. whole wheat too)
1 C. brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 C. cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 (14 oz.) can cranberry sauce or 1 1/2 C. homemade cranberry sauce (recipe below)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Use your fingers to rub in the butter until everything is moistened and no pieces are bigger than the oats.
Spoon three- quarters of the oat mixture into a 9x13" pan. Press down on it firmly to form a firm layer that evenly covers the bottom of the pan. Add the cranberry sauce in dollops and spread it in a thin layer over the oat layer. Sprinkle with the remaining oat mixture.
Bake for 25-28 minutes or until the top is just starting to turn golden brown. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars.
These bars are excellent on their own or heated up with a little ice cream on top. :) Enjoy.
Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce
I was never a cranberry sauce fan growing up, let that dish pass right on by me, but you know what. It was never homemade. Always that weird stuff out of the can that is easy to let is pass right by you. I don't know what inspired me to make my own, but now I really like it and it's one of my kids' favorite dishes at Thanksgiving. This recipe is super easy.
Ingredients:
2/3 C. sugar
1/3 C. light brown sugar, tightly packed
1/3 C. water
2/3 C. orange juice
12 oz cranberries, rinsed and picked through to remove the bad ones.
Directions:
Combine sugars, water, and orange juice in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally until sugars are dissolved and bring to a boil.
Add cranberries and return to a boil.
Reduce heat to a simmer and continue to cook the cranberries, stirring occassionally, 10-15 minutes or until most of the berries have burst and the mixture is slightly reduced. The longer you cook your cranberries the thicker your mixture will be, but it also thickens after standing for a bit.
Transfer mixture to a bowl and allow it to cool to room temperature and then cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
Cranberry sauce can be prepared up to a week in advance. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container.
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