Gluten Free Cranberry Lemon Oatmeal Bars

These Cranberry Lemon Oatmeal Bars will be high on my holiday baking list this year.  I rarely bake with granulated sugar, except during holiday times, when I like to make some of our favorite family treats. These Zebra Cookies, Nana's Butter Tarts, and Crispy Salted Coconut Cookies or any of these 12 Gluten-free Holiday Cookies and Bars are ones I make regularly.

If you love making these easy cranberry lemon bars, you'll also love these Apple Pomegranate Crumble Bars, Peach Crumble Bars, Apple Cheesecake Crumble Bars or Cherry Pie Crumble Bars, also gluten-free!

These cranberry bars are slightly reminiscent of the raspberry coconut bars my Mom used to make every Christmas, but if I recall correctly, there was a lot of butter, a lot of sugar, sweetened long-shred coconut and most of a jar of raspberry jam in those!

Tasty, for sure, but I prefer these healthier cranberry oatmeal bars.

Ready to make a batch of these delicious cranberry oat bars? Here's what you'll need:

• cranberries: you can use either fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries
• a lemon: you'll use both lemon zest and fresh lemon juice in the cranberry filling
• granulated sugar and coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
• cornstarch
• butter: you can substitute vegan butter (like Earth Balance) if you'd like.
• pure vanilla extract
• gluten-free baking flour: I've tested this recipe with both Bob's Red Mill 1-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour and Cup4Cup Gluten-free Flour. If you don't need this recipe to be gluten-free, you can use all-purpose flour.
• old-fashioned rolled oats: use certified gluten-free oats, if necessary
• unsweetened medium coconut

Here's a quick overview of what you'll do to make these cranberry oatmeal bars. You'll find detailed instructions in the recipe card below.

1. Start by making the cranberry filling. You'll cook it on the stovetop in a saucepan over medium heat, then set it aside while you make the base and topping.
   
2. Next, you'll combine the crumble ingredients to make the buttery crust. In a medium bowl combine melted butter, sugar, vanilla, gluten-free baking flour, and rolled oats.
   
3. Reserve 1 cup of the crumble for the topping. Add ¼ cup coconut to this mixture.
4. Press the rest into a parchment paper-lined 8-inch square baking pan.
   
5. Spread the cranberry mixture on top, taking care to leave a ½-inch margin all the way around to prevent the filling from leaking out while it's baking.
   
6. Top with the reserved crumble, sprinkling the remaining oat mixture evenly over the top.
   
7. Bake until golden brown. Cool completely before cutting into bars or squares. A perfect treat for the holidays!