Happy Bars (also known as) Fruit Bars

1.  I've been playing a bit with decreasing the amount of wheat and flour we've been eating at home. Whaddya call that? Faux Gluten-free?

2.  I've started restocking the pantry with bulk purchases again.

3.  I am on the hunt for foods to fill the lunch boxes for the work crew (David and the 3 oldest).
This recipe is going on the weekly list for packed lunches.

Combine those three endeavors and you'll see me scouring for pins to add to my virtual recipe boxes that will keep us thriving on that 50 pound bag of rolled oats that has taken over my kitchen shelves.

Of course, even with by pinning finger twitching, I pulled out my Better Homes and Garden cookbook that has been my trusty side-kick for my whole married life.  I got her for a gift at my wedding shower in college. Of all the cookbooks I've collected along the way, this one is still my first grab when I need a good base to go from.  I remembered these Fruit-Filled Oatmeal Bars from a while back and wanted to give them another try using my new experiments. 

They turned out great!  Pin-shmin.

I ground up some rolled oats in my food processor giving me some oat flour to replace the wheat flour in this recipe. The oat flour also did well in the biscuits I made for breakfast this morning, though I wouldn't be able to replace ALL the wheat flour with oat flour.

I cut the sugar in half for the oat mixture and completely omitted the sugar for the filling. I used prunes and the filling turned out *very * sweet all by itself. Of course, that opinion comes from someone that has been cutting out sugar for a long while, so take it for what it's worth. I'm planning to try out some other fruit fillings now that I have a good base to work with.

The bars were a hit, so I made a double batch of them again this morning. I decided to cut back on the sugar even more for the oat mixture.  I only put in 1/4 cup of brown sugar for a double batch.  *I* think they taste great, but the bars don't hold together well without that extra sugar.  These leaves these as a fork and spoon type of snack instead of a grab and go bar like they were meant to be. Still, not a bad trade for bit less sugar buzz.

Happy Bars
1 Cup oat flour (rolled oats ground fine in food processor)
1 cup quick-cooking or regular rolled oats
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and baking soda.  Cut in butter until mixture rembles coarse crumbs.  Reserve 1/2 cup of oat mixture.  Press remaining oat mixture into bottom of an ungreased 9x9x2 inch baking pan. Spread desired filling. Sprinkle with reserved oat mixture.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes until top is golden brown. Cool in pan on wired rack. Cut into bars.

Prune (or raisin) Filling:
In a medium saucepan combine 1/2 cup water and 2 tsp cornstarch. Add 1 cup diced prunes (or raisins - don't dice those ;) Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.

Today the girls and I had company, so we set out tea and "cake".  While we were getting things ready, one little girlie chimed out that we needed to get the Happy Bars ready.  Well, knowing these treats are healthy and yummy, that makes us all happy.

So, Happy Bars it is!

 

"You visit the earth and cause it to overflow; You greatly enrich it; The stream of God is full of water; You prepare their grain, for thus You prepare the earth."

Psalm 65:9