White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Bars are a favorite for the holidays with the pretty red color from the cranberries. Yet these slightly sweet bars loaded with nutrient rich oats are perfect for any time of year. These bars are easy to make and pack in the kid’s lunch and are not overloaded with lots of butter or sugar!
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I love making bar recipes because it’s quicker than baking dozens of cookies. I can mix the ingredients and press it all into a pan and have a quick sweet treat. These white chocolate cranberry bars are perfect to take to a pot luck or party. They even have pretty festive colors for an addition to your Christmas baking! If making for a larger crowd you can easily double the recipe!
Ingredients needed and substitutions
- old fashioned oats
- whole wheat flour- can use all purpose
- baking powder
- dried cranberries- could use any dried fruit- cherries, raisins etc
- slivered almonds
- white chocolate chips
- butter
- brown sugar
- vanilla extract
- almond milk- any milk will work
How to make white chocolate cranberry oatmeal bars
These bars are so simple to put together and they bake very quickly too! I start by lining a 8 x 8 square baking pan with parchment paper. I make the paper a little longer than the sides of the pan so that there is an overhang. This makes it so much easier to lift the bars out of the pan (once they are completely cooled) so that they are easier to cut. 
Then in a medium sized bowl I add the oats, flour, baking powder, cranberries, slivered almonds and white chocolate chips. Reserve a tablespoon of the white chocolate chips for drizzling later.
Next, with a hand mixer beat the brown sugar and the butter together in a medium sized bowl. Then I add the egg, vanilla extract and the milk. Once that is mixed thoroughly I add the dry ingredients and stir well with a spatula.
Once everything is mixed you can pour into your prepared baking pan. Use your spatula to press evenly into pan, pressing down firmly to pack the mixture together.
Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes. Allow to cool on counter until they cool enough to handle then place in refrigerator to harden.
Once bars have cooled, melt white chocolate chips in microwave for 30 seconds. Stir with spoon and microwave for an additional 10-15 seconds if needed being careful not to burn. Drizzle white chocolate over bars.
Remove bars by grabbing the ends of the parchment paper and lifting out of the pan. It makes it much easier to cut the bars into squares.
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White Chocolate Cranberry Bars
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, reserve 1 tablespoon
Wet Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons softened butter
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup almond milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Line 8 x 8 square backing dish with parchment paper longer than pan so that the edges hang over to easily lift oatmeal bars out of pan. Set pan aside.
- In a medium sized bowl add oats, whole wheat flour, baking powder, cranberries, almonds and white chocolate chips, reserving 1 tablespoon of chocolate chips for drizzling later.
- In a large bowl with hand mixer beat together butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add egg, vanilla, and almond milk and mix again.
- Mix all ingredients together and pour into parchment lined baking pan. Spread with a spatula pressing into corners of pan.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on counter for 15 minutes and then in the refrigerator for an additional 45 minutes to allow the bars to harden.
- Remove bars from refrigerator. Melt reserved white chocolate in microwave for 30 seconds until melted and drizzle over bars.
- Lift by parchment paper out of pan. Place on a cutting board and cut into small squares.
Related Posts:
White Chocolate Cranberry Bark
White chocolate and cranberry are two of my fav things!!