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Cranberry Crumble Bars

Cranberry crumble bars with a buttery oat crumble base and a thick ruby cranberry filling, baked until golden and crisp. This bar recipe uses orange zest and juice for bright flavor and slices clean after cooling completely.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 16 bars
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 360
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Oat crumble base and top
  • 2 cup rolled oats
  • 1.5 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
Cranberry filling
  • 3 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp orange juice
  • 1 tbsp orange zest
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 0.5 tsp cinnamon
To finish
  • 1 powdered sugar for dusting

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Preheat and make the oat crumble
  1. Preheat the oven to 375F and line a 9x13 pan with parchment for easy lifting and clean slicing.
  2. Combine the rolled oats, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt, then cut in the cold unsalted butter until the mixture forms coarse, crumbly clumps.
  3. Press 2/3 of the oat mixture firmly into the pan to form a packed base, then bake for 10 minutes.
Cook the cranberry filling
  1. In a saucepan, cook the cranberries, granulated sugar, orange juice, orange zest, cornstarch, and cinnamon over medium heat for 8-10 minutes until thickened and glossy.
  2. Spread the cranberry filling over the hot base in an even layer so it doesn’t sink unevenly.
  3. Crumble the remaining oat mixture over the top to create an even, sandy crumble coverage.
  4. Bake for 25-28 minutes at 375F until the crumble is golden across the surface.
Cool and finish
  1. Cool completely before slicing so the bars set and the filling holds its shape.
  2. Dust with powdered sugar and slice into bars for serving.

Notes

For the thickest, sliceable filling, cook until the cranberry mixture visibly thickens and coats the back of a spoon, then spread it right away over the hot base. Store covered in the refrigerator up to 4 days; freeze bars up to 2 months (wrap well and thaw overnight in the fridge). For a lighter twist, use part whole-wheat flour in place of up to half the all-purpose flour while keeping the same oat crumble texture.