Holiday Cranberry-Orange Crunch

By
Carroll Pellegrinelli
Carroll Pellegrinelli
Expert baker and published author, Carroll Pellegrinelli shares her knowledge of bread baking and desserts.
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Updated on 01/19/23
Raspberry-Cranberry Bars

Jonelle Weaver / Getty Images

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Total: 60 mins
Servings: 9 servings

Cranberry Crunch is a wonderful bar cookie that can be served any time of the year. You have a choice. You may make the cranberry relish that goes in this cookie from the below recipe or you can use store-bought Jellied or Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce. We prefer making the entire cookie completely from homemade ingredients, but if we're short of time...we won't tell if you won't tell.

Keep any leftover cranberry relish in the refrigerator. Keep the leftover Cranberry Crunch Bars in an airtight container. It is not necessary to refrigerate them.

Ingredients

  • For the Cranberry Relish:
  • 2 medium oranges (washed)
  • 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries (rinsed and drained)
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • For the Bars:
  • 1 1/2 cups uncooked rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
  • 1/3 cup butter (chilled)

Steps to Make It

Make the Cranberry Relish:

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Early in the day, cut unpeeled oranges into quarters. 

  3. Remove seeds.

  4. Put oranges and cranberries into a food processor. 

  5. While processing, add sugar.

  6. Place in the refrigerator until an hour before you plan to make this bar cookie.

Make the Bar Cookie:

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

  3. Grease an eight-inch square baking pan.

  4. In a bowl, mix together the oats, flour and brown sugar. Cut in the butter until nice and crumbly.

  5. Place half of this mixture in the prepared pan.

  6. Carefully spread with the bottom crust with 1 cup* of cranberry relish**.

  7. Top the cranberry layer with the remaining crumb mixture.

  8. Bake this cranberry crunch for 45 minutes.

  9. Serve this tasty treat warm topped with ice cream.

  10. Enjoy!

Recipe Variations

  • instead of making the cranberry sauce yourself, use a 1 (16-ounce can) Jellied or Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce for the above

Tips

Keep the leftover Cranberry Crunch Bars in an airtight container. 

These cookies also taste good just as they are at room temperature.

*Refrigerate the rest of the relish for another use or eating just as it is. Yum!

**If your cranberry relish seems overly wet, drain it before putting it on the crust.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
476 Calories
13g Fat
79g Carbs
12g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 9
Amount per serving
Calories 476
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13g 17%
Saturated Fat 6g 32%
Cholesterol 51mg 17%
Sodium 187mg 8%
Total Carbohydrate 79g 29%
Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
Protein 12g
Calcium 61mg 5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)