Cranberry Crunch Bars

Filling:
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
½ cup water
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
½ cup raisins

Combine sugar, cornstarch, water, vanilla, cranberries, and raisins in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Crumb Topping:
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup butter (melted)

Mix oats, brown sugar, flour, and melted butter until combined. Sprinkle ~ ½ of crumbs in bottom half of a greased 8-inch square pan.* Spread cranberry filling over the crumbs, and top with the remaining crumbs. Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes or until edges are slightly brown and caramelized.

*For a 9x13 pan, I use one whole bag of fresh/frozen cranberries, 1 1/3 cup sugar, ~¾ cup raisins, 1 Tbsp cornstarch, 1 to 1 ½ tsp vanilla, and ½ cup water for the filling; for the crumbs, I use 1 ½ cups oats, 1 ½ cups brown sugar, ¾ cup flour, and ½ cup (one stick) melted butter. Bake at 375 F for ~ 35 minutes or until edges are slightly brown and caramelized.