Vegan Fruit-Butter Bars

VegSocialWorker's Note:

From The Vegan Sourcebook by Joanne Stepaniak. So simple yet delicious.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 4

Yield: 12.0 bars

• 1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 ½ cups quick-cooking rolled oats (not instant)
• ¼ cup unbleached cane sugar (I use date sugar)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup canola oil
• 1 ½ cups thick fruit butter (apple, pumpkin, prune or peach)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly oil or spray sides and bottom of a glass baking pan, 8 inches square and 2 inches deep.
3. To make the crust, place the flour, oats, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir them together until well combined.
4. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the maple syrup and oil. Pour into the flour-oat mixture and mix thoroughly until everything is evenly moistened. The mixture will be crumbly.
5. Press half of this mixtur evenly into prepared baking pan, packing it down very firmly.
6. Carefully spread the fruit butter evenly over the base. Sprinkle the rest of the flour-oat mixture evently over the fruit butter and pat down lightly.
7. Beke for 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly brown. Cool on a wire rack and slice into bars or squares.

Reviews

[Lalaloula]

This is a wonderful recipe! I made it using rhubarb butter and baking it in small ramekins for individual servings. It was so tasty! Wow, I absolutely loved the crumbly topping with the moist interior. The fruit butter kinda melted into the bottom and topping which made it very special-neither too wet nor too dry. Perfect! I made half the recipe and left out the sugar. It was still sweet and that way you could really taste the fruit. YUM! Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful keeper of a recipe, Ajo! Made and reviewed for Veg'n Swap #8.

[Sydney Mike]

Made this as written & using some pumpkin butter, & as GREAT TASTING as that was, I absolutely have to try it with some apple butter next time! You've got a wonderful keeper of a recipe here! [Tagged, made & reviewed for one of my Vegan partners in the Vegetarian/Vegan Recipe Swap 4]