Cranberry-Date Oat Bars: Gluten Free Conversion Recipe

I’m pretty excited about this recipe because it involves cranberries. Real life, in the bag cranberries. I find myself drawn to them (which is weird in and of itself) but then I never really know what to do with them outside of making cranberry sauce.

What’s even more exciting is this recipe comes out of the new Gooseberry Patch cookbook Hometown Christmas that I will be having a giveaway for next month.

And as always my gluten free conversions are in (parenthesis )and in italics beside the original recipe’s ingredients. I try to make things a bit healthier too, so you also get my “healthier” conversions with each recipe. *smile*

Cranberry-Date Oat Bars

Ingredients:

12 oz. pkg. fresh cranberries

8 oz. pkg. chopped dates

1 t. vanilla

2 c. rolled oats, uncooked (Be sure to use gluten free oats if you are worried about cross contamination.)

2 c. all-purpose flour (I used 2 cups of brown rice flour.)

1-1/2 c. brown sugar, packed (I used coconut sugar. I actually cut the sugar in half and we still thought it was great. But we don’t like things overly sweet either.)

1/2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1 c. butter, melted (I used coconut oil. If you choose to use coconut oil you’ll be better off storing them in the fridge. Which is no problem as they still taste really good cold.)

Place cranberries and dates in a saucepan over low heat; do not add any water. Cover and cook, stirring frequently, until cranberries pop and mixture is pasty, 10 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and set aside. In a bowl, mix together remaining ingredients except butter; stir in butter until well blended. Pat half of oat mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13”x 9” baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes; do not overbake. Spread cranberry mixture carefully over baked layer. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture on top; pat gently. Bake an additional 20 to 22 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Drizzle with Orange Glaze; cute into bars. Makes 2 dozen.

Orange Glaze

2 c. powdered sugar

1/2 t. vanilla

2 to 3 T orange juice

Mix together all ingredients, adding orange juice to a drizzling consistency.

(I opted to make my own less sugary drizzle using a 1/4 of an 8oz. bar of softened cream cheese, 1 T. of maple syrup and orange juice to adjust taste and consistency. Everyone loved this version as well. It’s up to you.)

 

These got 6 out of 6 thumbs up. The beautiful red color in the middle makes it a festive treat for Christmas. 

It’s on page 138 in the cookbook below.

This recipe is part of a series that I started with permission from Gooseberry Patch. Click on the logo below to find more recipes.

I have also started a Gluten Free Conversion Pinterest board for these recipes as well, if you are interested.

Feel free to use the Printer Friendly option below the post to print it out in .PDF format.

Have a lovely day my friends.

OXOX,

Kim

*By law I must tell you that the links to Amazon are affiliate links and I get a small kickback if you happen to order through them. *smile*