Earl Gray Cranberry Oat Bars

Tart fresh cranberries cooked into a thick jam with sugar and orange zest, nestled in between a crumb topping of brown sugar and rolled oats. Finished with a quick and easy icing infused with earl gray tea.

Filling

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
3/4 cup organic sugar
2 tbl orange zest
1 tbl cornstarch mixed with 2 tbl water
1 tsp vanilla extract

Crumb

1 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup organic brown sugar
1 tbl orange zest
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
3/4 cup earth balance vegan butter, cold and cubed

For the filling:
In a sauce pot combine the cranberries, sugar and orange zest. Cook over medium heat until the cranberries have released their juices and the sugar has dissolved. Cook the mixture down for 5 more minutes. Add the cornstarch/water mixture and simmer on low until thick. Set aside while making the crumb.

For the crumb:
In a large bowl combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, orange zest, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine. Add in the butter chunks and mix with 2 forks or your fingers until the butter is fully incorporated and the mixture is in pea-sized pieces.

Preheat the oven to 350.
Line a 8x8 inch baking pan with parchment paper and grease with cooking spray. Press half of the crumb mixture down until packed and firm. Bake for 10 minutes. Add the filling on top and sprinkle the remaining crumb on top of the cranberry mixture. Bake for 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.

Earl Gray Icing

2 bags of earl gray tea
2 tbl non-dairy milk ( I used almond)
1 cup organic powdered sugar

In a small pot, heat up the milk but do not bring to a boil. Add the tea bags and remove from heat. Cover and let steep for 15 minutes. Squeeze any remaining liquid out of the tea bags into the milk and discard bags. Chill completely. Whisk together the chilled milk and powdered sugar until smooth. Drizzle over cooled bars.