Name: Cranberry Caramel Bars
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 24 bars
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cup fresh cranberries; 2 tablespoons sugar; 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour divided; ½ teaspoon baking soda; 2 cups uncooked old fashioned oats; ½ cup granulated sugar; ½ cup light brown sugar firmly packed; 1 cup unsalted butter melted; 10 ounce package chopped dates; ¾ cup pecans chopped; 12 ounce caramel sauce jarred

Cranberry Caramel Bars

Chewy oats, sweet gooey caramel, tart cranberries, and salty pecans come together in these perfectly delicious Cranberry Caramel Bars. Take this colorful dessert bar to your next potluck or just share them with friends this fall.

Total 50 minutes

Serves 24 bars

Desserts

American

Jump to the recipe

cranberry caramel bars stacked on each other more

Cranberry Caramel Bars Recipe

These bars have a wonderful flavor, a sweet treat with just enough cranberry twang! Old fashioned oats give these bars a chewy texture and caramel sauce ties everything together. These bars transport nicely, just put waxed paper in between layers in a covered container.

Related Recipe – Carmel Sauce

cranberry bar with bite out of it

Ingredients you will need

For the crust and topping: flour, baking soda, old fashioned oats, sugar, brown sugar, butter
For the layers: cranberries, dates, pecans, caramel sauce

labeled ingredients for caramel cranberry bars

Helpful baking tools

13×9 baking pan
Mixing bowls
Measuring cups and spoons
Wire cooling rack

How to Make Cranberry Caramel Bars

Start by preheating the oven to 350 F. Line a 13×9 baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving a little overhang so you can lift bars out later. Lightly grease the foil.

illustrated step photos for making crust and topping

Combine 2 tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl with the cranberries and set aside.
Combine 2 cups of flour and the next four ingredients.
Stir in melted butter until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup of this mixture and set aside.

illustrated step photos to bake the crust and add the cranberry layer

Press remaining mixture into bottom of the baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle with dates, pecans, and the cranberry mixture.

illustrated step photos showing caramel layer and baking the bars

Stir the caramel sauce and the remaining 1/3 cup flour together until smooth, spoon over cranberries.
Sprinkle with the reserved 1 cup flour mixture. Bake an additional 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
Cool on a wire rack. Lift out of pan with foil overhang. Cut into bars.

plate of cranberry caramel bars