SOFT & CHEWY CRANBERRY WHITE CHOCOLATE OAT BARS – Soft & chewy oatmeal bars studded with sweet white chocolate chips and tart cranberries.
They come together fast in one bowl without a mixer and bake in a mere 25 minutes making it easy to satisfy your random sweet tooth.
To make them melted butter, brown sugar, regular sugar, one egg and cinnamon is mixed together then flour, oats, chips and cranberries are added. So quick and easy – I’ve made them a few times before – when I wanted something good without a lot of fuss.
You can use 5-minute oats or long cooking oats – I’ve made them with both and prefer the 5-minute oats.
They’re covered in a 3-ingredient icing made of confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and heavy cream. You can skip if if you like but. . . I wouldn’t. . . the bars on their own aren’t very sweet and this adds the pop of sweetness I’m looking for.
They’re dense but soft with chewiness from both the oats and cranberries. They may not look like much but they’re terribly addicting.
So good with coffee in the morning, a cup of tea in the afternoon or a glass of milk for dessert. Tuck them into lunchboxes or picnic baskets.
You can’t go wrong.
SOFT & CHEWY CRANBERRY WHITE CHOCOLATE OAT BARS
Ingredients
- ¾ cup 12 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
- ¾ cup packed light-brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups 5-minute oats or old-fashioned rolled oats
- ¾ cup white chocolate chips
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- Icing:
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- a dash of vanilla
- 1 - 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper or grease generously with butter.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk the butter, both sugars, egg, salt, and cinnamon together until smooth
- Add the flour, oats, white chocolate chips and cranberries. Stir gently just until combined - the mixture will be thick.
- Spoon the batter into the pan and spread out evenly from edge to edge.
- Bake 25 minutes until lightly golden around the edges - a toothpick from the center should come out mostly clean with a few wet crumbs - not wet batter - attached.
- Cool completely.
Make the icing:
- Stir the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and heavy cream a little at a time until smooth and creamy. Add more heavy cream a little at a time until it reaches a soft spreading consistency.
- Smear over the bars from edge to edge.
- Remove the bars from the pan using the parchment to a cutting board and cut into 12 squares with a large chef's knife.
- Store tightly covered in a cool dry place up to 1 week.