Cranberry-Oatmeal Bars Recipe (2024)

I made as directed except for cooking 50 rather than 40 minutes, and cutting sugar to 1/3 cup brown and 1/3 cup white instead of 1/2 cup each. My crust was nice and crunchy-flaky, not soggy at all. I did let the crust sit in the pan for about a half hour before putting the topping on (simply because the oven was in use at a higher temperature and i needed to wait), and perhas that dried out the crust a bit? In any case, these are moist rather than soggy and quite flavorful. I loved the orange taste and think it's essential.

Oh, and I used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, as it was what I had on hand.

I changed the filling to: 1C chopped walnuts, 1C Cranberries, 2T maple syrup, 2T brown sugar, 2T flour, 1 T grated orange rind, 1 large egg white, beaten. No sour cream or vanilla. Mix all of this together, then simply mix it into the 'crust'. Spread in 11 x 7 pan, bake at 325 for 25 min. Absolutely delicious!!!

I have not started yet on this...still figuring out my pan size and need another sour cream if going to upsize by 1/2. The appropriate substitute sizes for a 7x11 pan are, believe it or not, a 8x8 pan, a 9x9 pan, or a 9-inch round cake pan. If you want to use the 9x13 pan, don't double the recipe, increase it by 1/2. So if it calls for 1 cup of cheese, use 1 1/2 cups. Like that. There is a truly excellent chart at Allrecipes: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Cake-Pan-Size-Conversions/Detail.aspx

Easy to make and a great bar to serve over the holidays. Will definitely make again.

Outstanding!! I used whole cranberries and they softened up perfectly in the oven! Absolutely delicious!

There were too many cranberries. If I make it again, I'll definitely cut down on the cranberries.

OMG, SOOO GOOD!! Trying not to eat them all in one day!!! :/

amazing amazing amazing. Can I say it enough? I loved it and everyone loved it! I don't have much of a sweet tooth,next time I will put less sugar since the cranberries were sweet enough for me.

My husband and I both really liked these. I liked the subtle undertone of the orange juice. I would definitely make a double batch of the crust and maybe add chocolate chips. Just a thought. I will make these again as something different and delicious for the holidays.

Delicious! I used raisins in stead of cranberries, tasted great. I also 1 1/2 halfed the crust recipe after reading other reviews, that is a definite MUST! They're really soft in the center, maybe they need 45-50 minutes instead of 40?

The bars are quite tasty, a good balance of sweet and tart. The sour cream filling is reminiscent of a cheese Danish. The filling seemed a bit runny and I was a little concerned that it wouldn't set while baking, but it did. They turned out perfectly. I think the next time I make these I might pre-bake the crust for a few minutes to achieve a crispier bottom. I would recommend giving these a try. They're festive and a nice addition to holiday baking. The filling sets them apart.

These are simply delicious. I make them regularly and share with friends and families that I see in the hospital with their sick children, they rave about them. I have shared this recipe with so many...love it!

Was just okay, kind of odd. Would be better off making a normal cranberry-oatmeal bar and having a smaller serving.

I made these bars yesterday b/c I was looking for a good recipe for fresh cranberries that are in season (I know the recipe calls for dried, but I don't think it would "hurt" the flavor to go with fresh in this case). Overall something is just "off" on this recipe. I think the cranberry flavor is masked almost entirely by the orange and although the bar tastes tart up front, it finishes (almost sickly) sweet from all the sugar. The bars are edible, but I won't be making again. Lots of better recipes for cranberries out there (try C.L.'s Cranberry Curd Tart with Meringue or C..L's Apple-Cranberry Crumble to start).

Very delicious recipe! However, I did find it to be quite sweet, and that's saying a lot coming from a person with a huge sweet tooth. Everyone seemed to enjoy them though, so I would recommend the recipe.

Very Very delicious even when I cut the white sugar by half.

These bars are just ok. They remind me of a moist NutriGrain bar, tasty, but just doesn't satisfy that indulgence craving. I replaced OJ with light cranberry juice b/c I don't like the mix of citrus and cranberries an omitted the orange peel. I cut the sugar some, but agree that even more could have been left out.

To reduce the amount of sugar, I used 2 1/4 cups fresh cranberries and substitued half of the white sugar with Equal. Also used Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream. It tured out amazing! Next time I'm going to mix in some fresh or frozen blueberries with the cranberries to make 3 cups of fruit. I also think that you can do away with the white sugar and substitue Splenda or Equal but definitely keep the brown sugar for the crust and topping.

I make this recipe often, it's my favorite bar. I use ff plain or Greek yogurt and light butter. 18 bars = 4 weight watchers pp.

LOVE this recipe! The first time I made these I took them as a sweet treat for friends who were bringing home their first-born. They loved them and called them Magic Bars! Since then, I have made them for lots of people - all have loved them. They are very easy to make and don't require many ingredients. They are great any time of year, but especially around the holidays!

Super easy and super delicious. I'm keeping this on my list of go to desserts!

Yum! I used nonfat Greek yogurt rather than sour cream and increased the topping by 1/3. They will certainly be a repeat for our family.

I am rarely displeased with a Cooking Light recipe, but this one just didn't make the cut. There is way too much butter and orange juice in the crust, so it comes out soft and bland, instead of cookie-crisp. The filling was ok, but certainly nothing special. And it took nearly 10 minutes longer to bake them completely than the recipe stated.

These were good, but I used sweetened cranberries instead of unsweetened and cut the sugar by 1/2 in the filling and they turned out a lot sweeter than I would have liked. They have a nice and oaty flavor and the texture is moist. I would lessen the butter and sugar next time.

Bars are outstanding and really worth-to-try...I even won one recipe competition with this recipe!! Next time I will reduce amount of the sugar and will add more cranberries!

I thought they were too heavy on the orange flavor for something that doesn't have orange in the title. Overall I just thought they were too sour, but the people I served them to told me they liked them.

This is one of my all time favorite snacks, and I've been on the lookout for a nice recipe. This recipe was easy and delicious. Go for it!

Absolutely delicious! The only change I made was to use light sour cream to lighten them up a bit further. I cut them into 12 servings, because if you cut them into 24 per the recipe, they would just be a little more than a bite. If following WW points, they are 5 pts. for 1/12 of the recipe using the light sour cream and they are worth every point! I will definitely make again and again.

These are sooo good. Love dried cranberries and these have enough in each bar. I prepared as indicated and will definitely make again.

These bars are delicious! I was looking for a lowfat oatmeal bar I could make to tame my sweet tooth while still trying to watch my calories. These hit the spot. My kids love them also. I made them as recipe stated but will definitely double the recipe next time to make a 9 x 13 size. They are like a cobbler if you try to eat right out of the oven. Let them cool completely to cut into bars.

This is one of my favorite dessert recipes! I have made it several times for parties and as gifts, and it's always a big hit. It's a great combination of sweet and tart. I follow the recipe exactly, and the results are just delicious.

These bars are great and perfect for breakfast during the week! I didn't have orange juice so I substituted tap water and left out the zest all together. They still taste wonderfully sweet.

I have made these several times now and always to delighted reviews. The bars strike a nice flavor balance and are not too sweet. They are perfect for breakfast, snack, tea, or dessert. They are also super easy to make which has definitely made this one of my go to recipes.

Not a bad bar recipe, but nothing special. Sort of bland, in fact. Other than using a 9x13 pan, I followed the recipe as is. I wouldn't make them again.

My sisteen year old son LOVED these and actually said so! What more can I say - will be making these again for this Thanksgiving. Moist, chewy and easy to prepare. Made no changes to recipe.

I love this recipe! I always make them a day ahead since they seem to taste even better on the second day!

We loved them - they were easy and delicious. Appropriate for a snack or light breakfast. I followed the recipe as stated with the exception of using a 9x13 pan. There was just enough crust for the pan. I don't know how it would cover the specified size. The other reviewers were correct though, the crust is not crumbly, so you have to break it apart to do the topping.

These were pretty good - but you really need to find unsweetened cranberries, which is difficult these days. I could only find sweetened dried cranberries, and even leaving out all the sugar in the filling, it didn't taste right.

I rarely give a 5-star rating, but these are SO worth it! The serving size is small, but the buttery crust & topping adds up to BIG taste!

This is hands-down one of my favorite recipes. I prepare this as another user does: in a 9x13 pan, doubling the crust portion and increasing the filling portion by 50%. Make sure you let them cool before cutting, and they will come out picture perfect! Outstanding taste, even the crust is tasty which is hard to find. I used fat-free sour cream & they were still delicious.

I rated this recipe a bit lower because it called for way too much dried cranberry. I used only 1/2 cup. Plus, the bars were a bit crumbly and didn't come out of the pan easily. They don't hold their shape very easily. On flavor, I made the first option and it was very tasty. I would make again.

I filled a 9" x 13" pan by doubling the crust portion (& saving out 1 cup for the topping) and increasing the filling by 50% (that's 1 1/2 filling recipes). It worked out great and looks just like the picture.

These were amazing! I will be making these often... they were great for desert and just as good for breakfast with a cup of coffee. The only thing I changed with this was to double the grated orange rind.

Really good option to cookies during the holiday. I was pleasantly surprised how yummy these were. I will be making this again!

I made the cherry variation of these bars, which were amazing! We bought more cherries just to make these again.

These are so good from the oven! Like a cobbler/cookie. I made these for a cookie swap and everyone liked them!

I made the recipe exactly as stated, with the exception of light butter and light sour cream (reduced the Weight Watchers points to 2 per serving). I found the crust and topping sufficient for a 11x7 pan. It took some patience to "sprinkle" the topping since my oat mixture was fairly moist. Amazing taste. I will make this again.

Absolutely delicious!! Serve these to family and friends and no one will suspect the recipe came from Cooking Light. They are sweet, creamy, and moist. Enjoy!

Hands down a favorite of all my guests over the Thanksgiving holiday, young and old alike. But don't wait to make them for a special occasion, because they would be perfect anytime. I followed the directions to the letter and they turned out perfect! I will definitely be making these again.

These are very good. Nice combo of sweet and tart. I followed the recipe exactly (no substitutions or additions as I usually do) and did not have any issues with crumbliness or not enough crust as some of the other reviewers did. The finished product looks just like the picture. This will be one of my go to recipes when I want a sweet treat. I will be adding this to my Christmas give away cookie/treat tins too.

This is a great recipe. I used a 9x9 pan and felt that the crust amounts were adequate for both the bottom and top. Instead of using all dried cranberries, I used only about 3/4 C of the dried and about 2/3 C fresh cranberries. Even the kids loved these!

After reading the reviews and seeing the amount of dry ingredients I made mine in an 8x8 pan. This worked well. I thought the taste was excellent. The crust and topping were not crumbly . I'm not sure why, as I measured carefully. It just meant the topping did not spread out well, and looked and acted more like a cobbler. I would try some chopped nuts next time for more crunch.

These were wonderful. The flavor was outrageous. Bake these to bring to an event!

Delicious and easy to make! I can't wait to take these to work so that everyone will rave over them. They are rather rich, so I would save these for a special occasion

Loved these and they turned out great. Worked out perfect you just had to work the dough down to the bottom of the pan and then spread the top and with the remaining dough dab it on. After they completely cooled they statisfied by sweet tooth! I am now going to try the Cherry and Date versions that are in the cooking light book.

Just okay, after reading reviews I did increase the topping amounts like others comments. Probably would not make again.

These were very very tasty. I also used splenda blends for both the brown sugar and regular sugar. The bottom layer was perfect for us - made them in a 10x7 pan. As a previous reviewer said, the top is a topping and there wasn't enough to cover but it was good without being cloyingly sweet.

I love these! I used the splenda blends for both the brown sugar and regular sugar. I was worried that the bottom layer wasnt thick enough and I think the next time I make these I will double the crust recipe to make the bottom thicker/have more topping. Definitely Recommend!