Cranberry-Oatmeal Bars

Hi lovelies!

Happy 1st day of September!  Hope everyone is having a fabulous week, I know I sure am.  Amidst packing, shopping, working out, errands and MORE packing, I've still found time to devote to my little kitchen prior to my departure to Smith Mountain Lake...my last little fling before the summer is finally over.

:::tear:::

With that said, I specifically made these deliciously addicting Cranberry-Oatmeal Bars as a request from Shoshana from the blog Shosh and the City who actually writes for a New York magazine The Resident!  She wanted to do a piece on healthy oatmeal recipes and asked if she could feature me!  Umm duh.  I quickly replied "YES" and the search began to find the most delicious oatmeal recipe out there. 

These bars were the perfect choice as not only do they taste delicious, but they're healthy, super easy to make and they're the perfect breakfast meal to grab on the go!  Make them the night before and you have your breakfast planned out for the week, which is something I'm definitely in need of as I'm usually rushing too much to make breakfast...sigh.

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Servings: 24

Serving Size: 1 square 

Calories: 133

Fat: 4.6 g

Carbs: 21.9 g

Fiber: 0.9 g

Protein: 1.5 g

Old Points: 2.9 pts

Points+: 4 pts

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Here are your ingredients:

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light

Crust

1 cup all-purpose flour (4 oz)

1 cup quick-cooking oats

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

6 Tbsp butter, melted

3 Tbsp orange juice

Cooking spray

Filling

1 1/3 cups dried cranberries (6 oz)

3/4 cup light sour cream

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. grated orange rind

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  To prepare crust, combine flour and the next 5 ingredients (through cinnamon) into a medium bowl.  Stir well with a whisk until combined.  Drizzle melted butter and orange juice over flour mixture, stirring until moistened (mixture will be crumbly).  Reserve 1/2 cup of oat mixture.  Press remaining oat mixture into the bottom of an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

To prepare filling, combine cranberries, sour cream, granulated sugar, and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring well.  Spread cranberry mixture over prepared crust and sprinkle reserved oat mixture evenly over filling.  Bake at 325 degrees F for 40 minutes or until edges are golden.  Cool completely in a pan on a wire rack.  Enjoy!  

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So I hope everyone has a super fun Labor Day weekend!  I leave for the lake tomorrow and will be gone the whole week (weeee!), but I have some amazing guest bloggers to share with you while I'm gone.  Please think of me while I'm lying out on the boat sipping cocktails and jamming out to my iPod :)

Jealous yet?? 

Looking forward to coming back and sharing my trip with you all!!

::Hugs & Kisses::