- HubPages»
- Food and Cooking»
- Dessert Recipes»
- Cookies & Biscuits
Healthy Oatmeal And Cranberry Snack Recipe: Healthy Oat Bars With Dried Cranberries And Sour Cream
OAT BAR RECIPE WITH DRIED CRANBERRIES AND SOUR CREAM
CRUST
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup quick-cooking oats
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4-1/2 cup of extremely finely chopped walnuts or almonds
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
- 4 tablespoons orange juice – add zest if you wish
FILLING
- 1-1/3 cups dried cranberries
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 large egg white slightly beaten
- Cooking Spray
MAKING OAT CRANBERRY BARS
Heat oven to 325 degrees.
For the crust:
- Spoon flour into measuring cup to measure out. Combine flour, oats, brown sugar, salt baking soda, cinnamon and nuts in a medium bowl and stir well with a whisk.
- Drizzle butter and orange juice over the flour mixture stirring until it is moistened. (the mixture will be crumbly).
-
Reserve 1/2 cup of oat mixture.
-
Press the remainder of the oat mixture into the bottom of an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
For the Filling:
- Combine all the filling ingredients (cranberries, sour cream, sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour, vanilla, orange zest and 1 large egg white) in a medium bowl, stirring well.
- Spread the cranberry mixture over the prepared crust.
- Sprinkle your reserved oat mixture evenly over the filling.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until edges are golden.
- Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
The Benefits of Cranberries
Cranberries are becoming very popular for baking in place of raisins or other dried fruits. They are being used as a topping for salads and incorporated into many recipes as their health benefits become more well known. Here are just a few of the health benefits of cooking with cranberries and adding them to your daily diet.
- Cranberry is felt to reduce the risk of heart disease as it works on low density lipoprotein and inhibits its oxidation
- Cranberry is known to be beneficial in preventing urinary tract infections caused by bacteria
- Cranberry has proven effective in anti-cancer studies in the prevention of cancer
- Cranberry's specific acid can aid in the prevention of kidney stone formation
- Cranberry inhibits bacterial growth which causes dental plaque
- Cranberry has been shown to provide asthma relief
- Cranberry has been shown to increase circulation