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Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets. For bars, lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan.
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In a large mixing bowl, combine the oil, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, salt, vanilla, and egg, beating until smooth.
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Add the boiled cider or syrup.
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Stir in the carrots, cranberries, chips, and nuts, then the flour, beating gently until well combined.
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Add the oats last, making sure they're thoroughly distributed throughout the bowl.
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To make cookies: Drop tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto the prepared sheets, leaving about 1 1/2" between them.
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Bake the cookies until they're just barely set on top — about 12 minutes.
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Remove them from the oven, and cool them on the baking sheets; they'll be very soft, so don't try to transfer them to a rack.
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To make bars: Press the dough into the prepared 9" x 13" pan.
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Bake the bars for 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
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Remove the bars from the oven, and press them down gently but firmly in the pan; this will make them slightly chewier. Serve them right out of the pan.
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Once cooled and cut, store in a covered container, with waxed paper or parchment between the layers to keep cookies or bars from sticking to one another.
