Cranberry Crunch
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These cranberry crunch bars include sweet and tart cranberries with a buttery streusel-like crumble topping and base that make them the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving table this year.
Some recipes just get you talking about the old days, which is why we love them so much. Cranberry crunch is one of those recipes that gets my mother talking about her childhood. The school lunch ladies often made this around the holidays and she loved it so much that one of them gave her the recipe for it, which has led us to enjoy it for the past couple of generations. Nothing like an heirloom recipe to bring memories back to life, especially around the holidays.
You only need 5 ingredients to make this old-fashioned cranberry crunch recipe: cranberry sauce, flour, oats, butter, and brown sugar. All we’re going to do is combine our dry ingredients (flour, oats, and sugar) in a mixing bowl and then cut in the butter to make it deliciously crumbly. Then we press half of this into the bottom of our baking dish before adding all the cranberry sauce and then the remaining crumble topping.
Then you have to patiently wait for it to bake before grabbing a bowl and serving your cranberry crunch bar with a big dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. I’ve also been known to enjoy one for breakfast, too. If you’re a fan of the humble crumble, you will love cranberry crunch. The combination of tart yet sweet cranberries with the buttery streusel-like crumble topping will be the perfect addition to your holiday table this year.
Recipe Ingredients
- Whole berry cranberry sauce
- Old-fashioned oats
- Flour
- Dark or light brown sugar
- Butter
How To Make Cranberry Crunch
Place your flour, oats, and brown sugar in a large bowl.
Stir them up.
Add your butter and cut that in with a long-tined fork or pastry cutter.
It will look like this.
Now spray a pie plate or 8×8 baking dish with cooking spray.
You can see some of these pretty dishes by fellow food blogger, Ree Drummond here.
Press half of your crumble mixture into the bottom of the pie plate to form the crust for the cranberry crunch.
Top that with the entire can of cranberry sauce.
Then take that same spoon and spread it around a bit.
Sprinkle the remaining topping over the cranberry sauce.
Bake cranberry crunch at 350, uncovered, for 45 minutes to one hour, or until bubbly and golden brown.
Cranberry crunch is excellent served with whipped cream or ice cream but you can also serve it as a side dish. Enjoy!
Storage
- Store leftover cranberry crunch in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 7 days. You can serve it at room temperature, cold, or reheated either in the oven or the microwave. This is a great recipe to make ahead of time this Thanksgiving.
- You can also freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
Recipe Notes
- I use old-fashioned rolled oats but quick oats will work just as well if that is what you have on hand.
- As for brown sugar, I’m using dark because it is my very favorite, but if you have light or prefer light, knock yourself out!
- I don’t recommend using frozen or fresh cranberries for this particular cranberry crunch recipe, as the cranberry sauce has added sweetness, which is exactly what we want.
- If you like, you can add 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts or chopped pecans to the crumble mix for added flavor and texture.
- Another option is to make cranberry apple crunch. Spread a cup or so of chopped apples over the cranberry sauce before adding the topping.
- Another way to add flavor is to add some spices to the topping. I’d recommend 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg.
Check out these other tasty cranberry treats:
Pumpkin Cranberry Bread With Caramel Glaze
Chewy Oatmeal Cranberry Cookie Recipe
Upside Down Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 16-ounce can whole berry cranberry sauce
- 1 cup light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine
Instructions
- Mix the oats, flour, and brown sugar together in a large bowl. Cut in the butter using a long-tined fork or pastry cutter.1 cup old-fashioned oats, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup light or dark brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter or margarine
- Press 1/2 of the crumble mixture into the bottom of a greased 8x8 baking dish.
- Spread cranberry sauce over the crust before topping it with the remaining crumbs.1 16-ounce can whole berry cranberry sauce
- Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until lightly brown. Excellent served with whipped cream or ice cream.
Nutrition
Don’t set yourself so firmly on remembering Thanksgiving’s past that you forget to put your heart into this one.
Christy,
I said this 2 1/2 years ago when I first found your web site, but now I must say it again. Your are an inspiration to us all. You bring messages to us that we need to hear. I hope we all are a little more gratefut this Thanksgiving because of your words.
Oh Elizabeth, you are so sweet. I don’t see myself as an inspiration, I see all of you as the inspiration to me 🙂 Especially you right now, with this comment!
Gratefully,
Christy
YES! YES! YES! Talk about memories! I used to make this bad boy by the huge sheet pans when I worked at a local summer camp. So awesome to have a “smaller” recipe — mine used to serve 50!!!! And so great to see it again… it’s been over, ummm, a long time!
Although….if you make a sheet pan, call my Mama 🙂
Men at our house on Thanksgiving always went hunting until lunch was ready. Kept them out of the way. My husband joined my dad and brothers. Now, dad is gone, brothers moved away and my husband is the best cook in three counties, so he joins myself and our daughters cooking the meal. The best time of the holidays for me is when we are in the kitchen together. We always sport our favorite holiday aprons and have a wonderful time. Many in our family have departed this earth, so we must learn to make new memories. Father-in-law died last Halloween; my mother passed away in January, so this has been a difficult year for all of us. We still give honor to the One who created us, that is what the holidays are about. God bless you all!
As I read this I couldn’t help but think how wonderful and loved it must feel to be in that kitchen! Happy Thanksgiving and God’s blessings to you, too!
Gratefully,
Christy
Christy, Your post is a true reminder of the importance of living in the moment…grateful and aware of its magic. I had already made up my mind it was going to be a sad Thanksgiving because my brother passed away. But you know what, he deserves more than that from me. He would want me to embrace the day with memories of him with joy, not sadness. Joy… so that my own sons would grow up to remember Thanksgiving 2011 not as the year Uncle Keith died and Mom was sooo sad. But that it was the year that Uncle Keith died and Mom made Thanksgiving extra sweet in his memory. Christy, you have the sweetest gift for writing. It springs from your heart. I’m so thankful for you and that wonderful heart of yours. God whispered in your ear with this post. Thank you my sweet friend for listening so intently when He spoke and taking the time to share it with all of us in your perfect words. Blessings on your Thanksgiving!
Maralee, you’re gonna make me cry 🙂 Thank you for letting God whisper in your ear with this comment.
Love you all
Christy
What a wonderful essay to read just at the perfect moment when I really needed this message Christy. I lost my sweet mother a year ago August and my wonderful daddy the July before that and although I have plans with other family to celebrate Thanksgiving, to be honest my heart just hasn’t been in it. What love and strength and security they always brought to my life… I have been lost without them. The wonderful food and togetherness, the roaring fire in the fireplace, singing and laughter, hugs and kisses… all that is left now are the ghosts of memory. I remember throughout the years my dear Daddy standing apart from all the merriment at different times, gazing wistfully out the window and murmuring “Mama”… in a whisper – himself remembering and missing his own mother during holiday times. I stood a ways away from him in reverence of his brief but powerful vigil. A silly girl, I didn’t really “get” it then… but how well I understand now… I’m hoping I can fully appreciate what I do have in the present… the loved ones I cherish and hold dear and help make memories for them to play back in their mental movies of special moments with me. Thank you so much for this wonderful message.
Jan, I had just gotten over Christy’s post a little when I read yours & tears started all over again. I have caught myself whispering “Mama” & “Daddy” at different times since they’ve been gone, especially at family gatherings, just as you remember your dad doing. God bless you all (Jan, Christy, and everyone reading this) as you “soldier on” and make the holidays special for the next generation. It’s hard to believe that I’m the Grandma now… =^..^=
My heart stopped when I read your comments. I didn’t realize it, but I’ve whispered my grandaddy’s name more times than I could ever remember.
Oh I just love you all.
Ok, so you have me in tears! We moved 300 miles away from my daughter, her husband, and now, our new grandson 4 years ago. I miss them terribly at every holiday. But, I have 3 kids here with me, and they always remind me that they are not chopped meat!! I’m gonna do better this year! I will still miss my daughter, but will focus on the ones right here with me!!!!
amen Vicki! You keep on keeping on, you may not see it but you’re making a difference!!
My family had it’s Thanksgiving last weekend in Georgia so we could all get together as a family and have our own turkey day at home. We too were missing family members that have passed away, so we set a place at the table with a picture of my Dad, Granddad, Uncle and Cousin….not a dry eye past those pictures.
What a wonderful idea