Cream Cheese Cranberry Bars, a rich, holiday cookie bar that resembles a luxurious slice of your favorite cheesecake.
When it comes to the holiday season, cranberries are welcome in both sweet and savory dishes. Whether it’s pork with cranberry sauce in the slow cooker, a cranberry spice cocktail or a sweet cranberry cobbler for dessert, we can all agree cranberries are king when it comes to serving a festive menu.
Sweet and simple, bars are so much fun to bake up for casual celebrations. These cranberry bars are tasty, festive and just right for the holiday dessert table or a cookie tray.
Heavy on the cream cheese, these bars are definitely more like your favorite slice of cheesecake, served between two delicious layers of crunchy oats as a crust and a topping. The sweet layer of cranberries in between is just an added bonus.
There is no doubt these will be the hit of your celebration.
Ingredients For Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars
Pantry Ingredients
- old-fashioned oats – not quick cooking oats
- all-purpose flour
- chopped walnuts – you really want to chop these finely so they incorporate well into the crust and topping without any large chunks. Walnuts bitter character are the perfect balance for a sweet dessert.
- brown sugar – use the light/golden brown variety for this recipe
- cinnamon – make sure it’s fresh for the best flavor
- white chocolate chips – best flavor to use with cranberry
- sweetened condensed milk
- vanilla extract – use pure vanilla extract and not the fake kind
- whole berry cranberry sauce – not the jellied cranberry sauce, but the whole berry, there is a difference.
- cornstarch
Fresh Ingredients
- unsalted butter
- cream cheese – do not use lowfat in this recipe
- orange juice -fresh is best, but strain the pulp; you can also substitute with lemon juice
How To Make Cranberry Bars
Step one: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Step two: In a large bowl combine oats, flour, chopped walnuts, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter until the flour mixture is crumbly, then add the white morsels and stir. Reserve 2 cups of this mixture and set aside for the topping.
Step three: Press the remaining oat mixture into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.
Step four: In a separate large bowl, using a mixer, beat the cream cheese until creamy, add sweetened condensed milk, orange juice and vanilla extract and mix well, until smooth and pour over oat mixture.
Step five: In a medium bowl mix together cranberry sauce, and corn starch. Spoon over the cream cheese mixture (don’t spread it), and sprinkle the reserved oat mixture top.
Step six: Bake for 35-40 minutes or toothpick comes out clean. It should be lightly golden brown on top. If the edges get to dark before it’s done baking, you can place some foil around the edges.
Step seven: Let cool completely, cut into squares and serve. I like it plain, but, you can always garnish it by adding a scoop of ice cream or cool whip with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Step eight: Cover and refrigerate any left overs.
What Is The Difference Between Old-Fashioned Oats and Quick Cooking Oats?
When used in desserts, quick oats will cook faster, and have a more delicate texture while, old-fashioned oats have a heartier texture.
This recipe calls for old-fashioned oats because they create the perfect texture for a the crust and topping for this particular dessert. The heartier oats are a perfect match for the creamy middle.
Can I Use Fresh Cranberries?
You could easily use a fresh cranberry sauce, but you would need to cook them over the stove with sugar, water, and cornstarch until thickened.
Make sure to let the sauce cool completely before spooning onto the cream cheese.
Storage Instructions
Since this dessert has cream cheese in it, you will need to cover and place in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
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You Will Need the Following Supplies to Make This Recipe
• large and medium mixing bowls
• hand mixer
• spatula
• 9 x13 baking dish
• variety of measuring cups
• measuring spoons
More Cranberry Recipes You Might Enjoy
Cranberry-Orange Coffee Cake
Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip
Cranberry Monte Cristo Sandwiches
Cranberry Christmas Cake
Cranberry-Vanilla Cinnamon Smoothie
Cream Cheese Cranberry Bars
Ingredients
Oat Mixture:
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 package (11 oz) white chocolate chip morsels
Cream Cheese Mixture:
- 12 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice (strain pulp)
- 2 tsps pure vanilla extract
Cranberry Sauce:
- 2-2/3 cups whole berry cranberry sauce (this about 1-1/2 cans or 21 oz)
- 3 tbsps corn starch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large bowl combine oats, flour, chopped walnuts, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter until the flour mixture is crumbly, then add the white morsels and stir. Reserve 2 cups of this mixture and set aside for the topping.
- Press the remaining oat mixture into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.
- In a separate large bowl, using a mixer, beat the cream cheese until creamy, add sweetened condensed milk, orange juice and vanilla extract and mix well, until smooth and pour over oat mixture.
- In a medium bowl mix together cranberry sauce, and corn starch. Spoon over the cream cheese mixture (don’t spread it), and sprinkle the reserved oat mixture top.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or toothpick comes out clean. It should be lightly golden brown on top. If the edges get to dark before it’s done baking, you can place some foil around the edges.
- Let cool completely, cut into squares and serve. I like it plain, but, you can always garnish it by adding a scoop of ice cream or cool whip with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
- Cover and refrigerate any left overs
Notes
Nutrition
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