Do you ever have too much of something in your pantry and are not quite sure what to do with it?
Well, that’s my story today. For some reason I have an abundant supply of dates and dried apricots in which I need to make a dent. I’ve made very few things with either as an ingredient so it was Google to the rescue.
I was surprised to find quite a few options, and the one that caught my eye was for Fruitcake Bars from David Leibovitz. Now I’m not a real big fan of fruitcake, but the fact that his recipe didn’t call for candied fruits made me think it was OK.
The bars are chock full of fruits and nuts, and thanks to a small amount of sugar they are not too sweet. I can’t wait to have one with morning coffee.
In case you are tempted by these, I’ll save you the trouble of finding the recipe and share it. Now that I’m looking at it, it occurs to me that you could use a variety of dried fruits so don’t be afraid to do your own thing! That’s what makes cooking fun.
Fruitcake Bars
6 tablespoons flour (I used gluten free)
1/8 teaspoon each of baking soda and baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons packed, light or dark brown sugar
2 cups walnuts, almonds, or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups dates pitted and quartered and 1 cup dried apricot halves snipped in half
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Line an 8-inch square pan across the bottom and up the sides with aluminum foil. Preheat the oven to 325ºF and position the rack in the center of the oven. In a large bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the brown sugar, walnuts, dates, and apricots. Use your fingers to mix the fruit, separate any pieces sticking together. Beat the egg and vanilla in a small bowl, then mix it with the fruit and nut mixture until everything’s coated with the batter. Spread the mixture in the baking pan and press gently to even it out. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the top of the bars are golden brown and have pulled away just-slightly from the sides of the pan. Cool the bars in the pan, then lift out. To cut the cooled bars, use a heavy sharp knife, such as a bread knife, for ensuring neat, clean slices.
Lulu's Musings 
Lulu,
If you have a “next time” with these ingredients then maybe try out one of my Best friend’s family recipes which is one of our favourites too: It’s on my blog with the name:
“Standing out, from the crowd of buffet table “usual’s” …
https://kiwidutch.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/standing-out-from-the-crowd-of-buffet-table-%e2%80%9cusuals%e2%80%9d/
If you are using a double mix (using a whole can of condensed milk instead of just half) it makes a lot, so you could make the mixture up until ready to press into the dish, separate off half to be completely nut free, then fold the nuts into the remaining half of the mixture, then you would (a)get a piece of the original mix to try as well as the tweaked recipe and:
(b) have something for the non-nut eaters to enjoy as well (although I would press their mixture into a completely separate pan to avoid any cross contamination of the mixes, especially important for those who have nut allergies)
That said, this “health Bar” looks yummy too! (I will have to wait until Kiwi Daughter is away at University thought because she has a very heavy nut allergy so we dob’t keep nuts in the house when she’s here.
Thank you for sharing! I love to try this recipe.
Well I seem to be in good company as I see that I’m not the only one that likes fruit cake. These bars would make a great treat to start the day with a cup of tea.
I am pinning this! We would enjoy this immensely. Thank you my friend!
They look so good!
Wow looks so delicious! I’d also probably use them in the bread I make hahah 🙂
Looks like a great idea and recipe for dried fruit and nuts! Thank you!
Linda, these look delicious, and I plan to make them! Thank you for including the recipe. Like my good friend Pam above (Everyday Living), I love fruitcake!
That sounds delicious, but I love fruitcake!
I love his recipes. I have several bookmarked.