Recipe: Cranberry/Oatmeal Bliss Bars
After Christmas, we had a rather large amount of Craisins onhand. Mom suggested topping cereal and oatmeal or adding them to pancake batter. All great ideas, but I wanted to utilize a bigger quantity - rather than just a handful - of the dried berries all at once. Having fallen in love with my coworker's "Oatmeal Caramelitas," I decided to tweak the recipe. Why? Because when I think of oatmeal and brown sugar as ingredients (both separately and together), my mind automatically goes to fruit and milk, not chocolate and caramel. In my version, I substitute chocolate chips with Craisins and opt for condensed milk over caramel sauce. The Maldon Sea Salt Flakes finish these bars with a delightfully savory kick!
Ingredients
Crust
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose or unbleached flour
2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups salted butter, softened
Filling
14 oz. can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
3 tablespoons all purpose or unbleached flour
2 cups Craisins
(Optional) 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Method
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 13x9-inch pan. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine all crust ingredients, mix at low speed until crumbly, or mix by hand. Reserve 3 cups of the crumb mixture for the topping. Press remaining crumb mixture in bottom of the greased pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk and flour; blend well.
Remove partially baked crust from oven; sprinkle evenly with Craisins and, if you opted, the chopped pecans. Drizzle with condensed milk mixture. Finish by sprinkling the reserved crumb mixture.
Return to oven; bake an additional 20 minutes or until golden brown. Lightly sprinkle with Maldon Sea Salt Flakes.
Cool 1 hour (or until completely cooled). Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until filling is set. Cut in to bars and enjoy!
...
Until we eat again,
Lindsay, The Lunch Belle