Cranberries and oats: sounds like healthy eating to me! I mean sure, there are two sticks of butter, but that’s dairy, so it can’t be all bad. Calcium is good for the bones!

These are a take on my grandmother’s date squares. I thought I’d try them with dried cranberries and see how it worked. I added some orange juice to add a little sweet to the cranberries’ tart. The whole thing was a hit at our house. This is a good way to ease into semi-healthy eating (or semi-unhealthy eating, but I prefer to look at things in a positive light!).

I’m trying to work on some breakfast cookie ideas, but I think these are too sweet, and not really filling enough for breakfast, so I’ll keep working on that. Maybe if I added some bran?!

Cranberry Crumb Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 c. rolled oats
• 1 1/4 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 c. butter
• 1 lb. dried cranberries
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 c. orange juice

Directions:

1. Place cranberries, orange juice, and brown sugar in a sauce pan over medium head.
2. Cook until the mixture comes together and takes on a jam like consistency, remove from heat and cool.
3. While filling is cooling combine butter and all the dry ingredients in a mixer. Mix until everything comes together like crumbs. (Does that even make sense?)
4. Take half the crumb mixture and press it into an 8″ x 8″ pan. Spread the cranberry mixture on top, then top with the crumb mixture. Sprinkle the top layer just like you would with an apple crumble.
5. Bake in a 325º oven for 25 minutes, or until the top starts to brown.
6. Let cool and cut into squares.