Cranberry White Chocolate Cobbler Bars: Mini Chef Mondays

Hi, y’all! First off, can you believe Thanksgiving is basically here? Texas even got temps in the 40’s so we can finally feel like it’s fall, and here in my house we are all very ready for Thursday to arrive.

Around this time of year, there are certain ingredients that really come to mind, and the cranberry is one of those. It’s something that’s important to Thanksgiving, but it’s also a flavor that’s prevalent in all sorts of Christmas desserts, too. So this week, to celebrate Thanksgiving and welcome the start of the Christmas season, E and I made cranberry white chocolate cobbler bars. I’ve gotta give credit to my mother-in-law; a conversation with her a few weeks ago about cranberry desserts is what got my mind headed down this path to begin with. Oh – I was going to just call these cranberry white chocolate bars, but Brian said they reminded him of cobbler, so he helped inspire the name.

Y’all, I’m not lying when I say this dish is one of my very favorites ever. It’s a perfect blend of sweet and tart, chewy and crunchy. It is amazing and I hope you get lots of opportunities to take it to parties over the next few months, because I promise everyone will love you for it.

As always with Mini Chef Mondays, I’ll share the basic recipe, and then below that you’ll get step-by-step photos if you’d like to make this with your kid chef!

I don’t want to forget to mention this, also: be sure and check back tomorrow for another recipe post AND a really fun giveaway. Now, let’s get on to the food!

Cranberry White Chocolate Cobbler Bars

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces fresh cranberries
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• Juice from half a medium orange
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 package Betty Crocker yellow cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup oats
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the cranberries, white sugar, the juice of one half of a medium orange, and water. Cover your pot and let cook for 10 minutes; stir. Cover the pot again for another 10 minutes or until the majority of the cranberries have popped. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, melted butter, and eggs until well combined. The mixture will be pretty thick. Stir in the oats, brown sugar, ginger and cinnamon; then mix in the white chocolate chips. Set aside a heaping cup of the mixture. Spread the rest into the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish, packing it down to form an even layer. Pour the cranberry mixture over the crust; if it’s still warm or hot, be careful! Pinch off pieces of the remaining mixture and place evenly over the cranberry layer.
4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is lightly browned. Cool in the pan until room temperature and refrigerate for at least an hour before slicing into bars and serving.

Let your assistant put all the cranberries into a pot that is not over a heating element.

Then realize your initial pot is way too small and pour the cranberries into an appropriately-sized pot.

Add the sugar and water.

Take a medium-sized orange and cut it in half. We juiced half for the recipe and the other half for E to drink.

Stir everything together – and again, if you’re letting your child do the stirring, make sure it’s not over heat yet.

Once everything is mixed, cook with a lid on for about 10 miutes, then check on it and stir. Cook for another 10 minutes, or until most of the cranberries have popped. It should look like this:

Let the cranberries cool, and get started on the other part of the recipe:

Start with your box of Betty Crocker cake mix. E says, “You think this is just for making cakes? Think again!”

Pour in the cake mix.

Add brown sugar.

Add two eggs and the melted butter – I poured the butter in, since it was fairly hot, and then let E stir.

Add in the oats, then the cinnamon & ginger.

Next, you need white chocolate chips. I think white chocolate & cranberry pair together so well. And E thinks it’s great to sample (she totally got caught in the act right before this pic!):

Set aside a heaping cup of the mixture, and press the rest of it into the bottom of a 9×13 pan.

Pour the cranberries over top.

Then sprinkle pinches of the dough mixture evenly over top of the cranberries.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned.

Let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least an hour before cutting into bars. I refrigerated ours overnight. These are great served cold or warm. Either way, enjoy!

You can find great deals on the ingredients for this and many other recipes at WinCo, using coupons like:

• Save $1 on Bulk Foods when you buy four Betty Crocker SuperMoist Cake Mix or Ready to Spread Frosting (any flavors / varieties)
• Save $1 on Bulk Foods when you buy any two boxes of Chex cereal (any flavors / varieties)

As always, be sure and check out great recipes from my fellow Mini Chef Mondays co-hosts, and add a link to your kid-friendly recipe in our link-up below!

Follow along socially and join in on the fun by using our hashtag #MiniChefMondays to share creations your mini chef created in the kitchen. Don’t have a blog? Share the URL of your instagram photo in our linky below.

1. Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshake with Whipped Cream // Courtney’s Sweets
2. One Hour Bread Recipe // Momma Lew
3. Homemade Berry Granola // Baby Loving Mama
4. The Best Sweet Potato Pie Recipe // We’re Parents
5. Easy French Pastries Kids Can Make // Eating Richly
6. Thanksgiving Fruit and Cheese Turkey Centerpiece // Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps
7. Easy Peasy Cheesy Puffs // Step Stool Chef
8. Twinestrone Soup // Vegging at the Shore
9. Banana Smoothies // Mom’s Messy Miracles
10. Harvest Kale Salad // O’Boy! Organic
11. Zwetschgenwähe: Swiss Plum Pie // Can’t Google Everything