Chocolate, Cranberry & Oat Bars

photo by:kraft

Chewy and sweet with tart cranberries, rich chocolate chunks and crunchy pecans...these bars can make it that much easier to stick to your smart eating plan.

time

prep:

15 min

total:

45 min

servings

total:

32 servings

add your photo

add to shopping list

add to recipe box

send/share

What You Need

cup dried cranberries

1/4

cup orange juice

1-1/2

cups flour

1-1/2

cups quick-cooking oats

tsp. CALUMET Baking Powder

1/4

tsp. salt

3/4

cup margarine, softened

1-1/2

cups packed brown sugar

eggs

pkg. (4 oz.) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/2

cup chopped PLANTERS Pecans

Make It

HEAT oven to 350ºF.

MICROWAVE cranberries and orange juice in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 30 sec. Mix next 4 ingredients; set aside. Beat margarine and sugar in large bowl with mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each until well blended. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in cranberry mixture, chocolate and nuts.

SPREAD onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray.

BAKE 25 to 30 min. or until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Note from the Kraft Kitchens

Thank you for your feedback. We have increased the bake time as a result of your comments. Enjoy!

Substitute

Substitute raisins for the cranberries.

Rate recipes, or edit your previous ratings and more. Sign In

kath158

posted:12/9/2007

I loved it, but I made some substitutions since i am a diabetic. I used Splenda instead of sugar. They turned out great.

tiascheitlin

posted:12/7/2007

make this recipe, its so good and good for you. The tartnest of the cranberries and the crunch of the pecan makes it so yummy. For a busting taste, I added some orange zest to it. Try it, You'll love it.

2220cheryl

posted:12/7/2007

We loved this recipe. The bars were very moist and chewy. The combination of cranberries and dark chocolate chunks was yummy. I cooled and chilled the bars before cutting them so the chocolate was firm. I'm freezing them for the holidays. The copy of the recipe in the Kraft Holiday 2007 edition of FOOD and FAMILY MAGAZINE calls for baking the bars for 20-22 minutes. I had to double the baking time listed. They took 43 min. They were still wet and gooey after 20 min.

Chriss1

posted:12/7/2007

These cookies are wonderful. They didn't even last a day!!!

ajbabb

posted:12/7/2007

Overall the flavor is really good. I personally would use slightly less cranberries and maybe a little more chocolate. I'm not as crazy about all those cranberries, but I have a feeling I'm in the minority on that one! Yes, as other reviewers have said, these do turn out crumbly, but the flavor is still there!

joanifsg

posted:12/6/2007

This is awesome! My husband isn't crazy for cranberries so I was nervous. But he loved it and so did everyone else who had some. They're so good they don't taste healthy. I'm making these again tomorrow and maybe again for a cookie exchange. You've got to try it!

kschultze1

posted:12/6/2007

It was too crumbly.nice flavor but I would use less flour and oats if I ever made it again..

kmburke12

posted:12/5/2007

Enjoyed the healthy living side of this recipe, very good.

a cook

posted:12/5/2007

My husband enjoyed these very much. I did substitute white chocolate chips for the chocolate.

sharikerk

posted:12/4/2007

I used your basic recipe but tweeked it a bit. Had dried cherries on hand and soaked them in a low sugar grape juice, also used toasted walnuts and reduced the chocolate a bit. To cut out some fat I used unsweetened apple sauce for half the butter called for and I did have to bake it a bit longer than 30 minutes. The end result is yummy and I feel good about eating them, too!