Looking for a delicious oatmeal bar recipe? These apple cranberry oatmeal bars are quick to make and insanely delicious. The balance of sweet and tart, these oatmeal bars are so easy to fall in love with making them.
These apple cranberry oatmeal bars are made with a brown sugar oatmeal crumble crust that’s filled with tart apples and cranberries. The filling is made with applesauce, dried cranberries, spices, and orange zest. The cranberries absorb the applesauce while baking that burst in your mouth.
Apples and cranberries are a classic flavor combination that led itself best to cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves. The blend of spices makes this the perfect fall treat, and for a bonus, you can drizzle dark chocolate over the top of them and make it into a tasty dessert.
Serve the oatmeal bars with a cup of coffee or enjoy them alone as your heading out to start your day. You and your friends will love these oatmeal bars. You can make them for any number of occasions like brunch, baby showers, a fun holiday party, or your school’s next bake sale.
With this recipe, you have the option to bake these oatmeal bars in a variety of baking trays. I love thicker/chewy oatmeal bars so you can bake them in a 7x7x2 inch pan. Or you can bake them in a large pan like a standard 9×13 inch for thinner bars. It’s a simple adjustment, make sure you bake until the crumble is golden brown on top and then remove from the oven. Let the bars cool completely before removing them from the pan.
Tips for Success:
- Read through all the ingredients and instructions so you can get a better idea of how much time and what you need to make this recipe.
- This recipe can be easily doubled to accommodate larger baking trays.
- Let the bars cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before cutting and removing from the pan.
- Store the oatmeal bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
- Serve oatmeal bars cold or room temperature. If desired, heat up in the oven for 10 minutes to re-crisp the crust.
- Optional: drizzle melted dark chocolate over the top to make it into a sweet dessert.
What Tools You’ll Need to Make These Oatmeal Bars:
- Baking Pans- 7x7x2 inch or 9×13 inch
- Offset spatula
- Rubber Spatula
- 2 Mixing Bowls
- Pastry Blender or Fork
- Non-Stick Cooking Spray
- Cooling Wire Rack
Learn how to make these sweet and tart apple cranberry oatmeal bars!
Let’s Get Baking!
How to Make the Apple-Cranberry Filling
In a medium bowl, combine the unsweetened applesauce, dried cranberries, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and orange zest. Mix until incorporated and set aside.
How to Make the Oatmeal Crumble
In another medium bowl, combine all-purpose flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Using a pastry blender (or use a dinner fork), cut the cold butter into small cubes and slowly add in until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Split mixture in half and reserve one half for the crumble topping.
Assemble
Preheat the oven to 350°F, prepare a baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Press the remaining half of the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased baking pan. Press together to set crumb on the bottom. Use 7x7x2-inch pan for thicker bars, or use a 9×13 for thinner bars.
Spread the filling on top of the crumb mixture. Crumble the remaining crust mixture to treat larger crumbs and sprinkle it over the filling.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Cool for 30-45 minutes on a wire rack. Then cut into 12 bars.
Finally, serve the oatmeal bars at room temperature.
You May Also Enjoy:
- How to Make a Whimsical Milk & Cookies Cake (tutorial)
- 14 Clever Baking Hacks and Ideas That’ll Make Baking Easier (post)
- Common Baking Mistakes & How to Avoid Them (free ebook)
- How to Decorate Your First Cake (free course)
- Cake Decorating for Beginners (online course)
What I truly love about these oatmeal bars is that I have been making them since I was in high school. I have perfected them, and I’m so excited to share this recipe with you! If this is your introduction to baking, then this recipe will be easy for you to succeed and get comfortable in the kitchen. If you are a more experienced baker, then you’ll find joy with ease in the simplicity of this recipe.
I can’t wait for you to try these Apple Cranberry Oatmeal Bars!
Happy Baking!
Hey, if you liked this tutorial, you really should check out, Cake Decorating Creator Program, my online cake course. I coach you on everything I teach on these cake tutorials so that you can uplevel your baking and decorating skills. We 10x it so you get the results you want most. Like any new skill, it’s important to learn from the ground up to build a foundation, so take on any cake challenge. It is an investment your future self will thank you for. Check it out at XOKatieRosario.com/online-cake-course. I will see you there.
Watch The How-to Video Below:
Apple Cranberry Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teapsoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground clove
- 1 medium orange, zested
Oatmeal Crumble
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
- 2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold
Instructions
Filling
- In a medium bowl, combine the unsweetened applesauce, dried cranberries, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and orange zest. Mix until incorporated and set aside.
Oatmeal Crumble
- Preheat oven to 350°F, prepare pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- In another medium bowl, combine ap flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Using a pastry blender (or use a dinner fork), cut the cold butter into small cubes and slowly add in until mixture resembles coarse crumbs — split mixture in half and reserve one half for the crumble topping.
- Press the remaining half of the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased baking pan. Press together to set crumb on the bottom. Use 7x7x2-inch pan for thicker bars, or use a 9x13 for thinner bars.
- Spread the filling on top of the crumb mixture. Crumble the remaining crust mixture to treat larger crumbs and sprinkle it over the filling.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Cool for 30-45 minutes on a wire rack. Then cut into 12 bars. Serve at room temperature.
Notes
- Make sure the pan is completely cool before removing from the pan to cut into bars to make it easier to cut.
- Store the oatmeal bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
- Optional: drizzle dark chocolate over the bars to make it a sweet dessert.
Pin it! Save it for later!
Paul says
Hi, looks absolutely delicious! Just wanted to know if you’ve tried this with fresh whole fruit and berries.
Thanks
Katie says
Hi Paul!
I have tried fresh fruit like strawberries and cranberries. For this recipe, use 2 cups of fresh sliced strawberries, 1 tsp lemon juice, and 1 tsp of all-purpose flour. The flour helps the filling stay together and takes away the moisture from the fresh fruit. Use this filling instead of the one in the recipe and bake the same. If you do use fresh cranberries, I like to add 2 tsp of orange zest and juice to compliment the cranberries.
Hope this helps! Thank you for reading Paul!
Best Wishes, Katie
Tracey says
I have real frozen cranberries,
What do think?
Will they work?
Katie says
Hi Tracey!
Yes it should work! You need to dry off the cranberries first so the excess juice won’t effect the crumb layer. Then mix it with the applesauce to make the filling. Use the same amounts from the recipe above just substitute the dried for the fresh frozen cranberries. Let me know if you have anymore questions! Thank you for reading!
Best Wishes, Katie
Tracey says
Thank goodness. Really want to make tonight, but no dried cranberries just frozen.
Super excited.to try. I’ll let you know what the results were
Katie says
That’s awesome! Yes please let me know!!! Have fun!!
Tracey says
Ok,
I did it!
The taste. AWESOME!!!
It does not look as good as yours;
But, i am pleased with it.
Thanks again.
Katie says
Yay! I’m sure it tastes fantastic with the fresh cranberries! Love it!
Happy Baking!
Katie