Harvest fruit snack bar

Yesterday I was looking for a snack for hubby to share with his friends as per plan. For a long time I wished to bake some oats snack bar and got this recipe from the quaker oats website. I made slight variations as I was using my Ashirvad whole wheat flour and old fashioned oats. The layering technique in this recipe is very easy to follow and I got very good quality snacks. These snacks smelled like Christmas cake because of the dry fruits and both of us liked it very much.

Almonds, Orange juice, banana and dry fruits.

after adding the fruit layer to crust.

Let the snack bar cool completely.

Store in refrigerator.

Ingredients:

old fashioned oats - 1 3/4 cup
whole wheat flour - 2 cup
unsalted butter - 1 1/2 stick (3/4 cup)
brown sugar - 1 cup (tightly packed)
Raisin - 1/2 cup
banana - 1
orange juice - 1/2 cup
(2/3 cup for quick oats)
cinnamon powder / all spice powder - 1/2 tsp
chopped toasted almond - 1/2 cup
salt - 1/4 tsp
orange peel - 1 tbsp
butter - 1 tsp (for greasing the pan)

Method:

Take 2 bowls, one large another medium size. Heat oven to 375°F.

1.Dry fruits I used : Raisin, candied pineapple,cherry, orange peel.
we can also use dates, dry apples etc.
I had a banana in freezer and used it here after thawing in room temperature.
In medium bowl add the dry fruits, chopped banana, orange juice, peel. Keep aside

2.In the large bowl mix softened butter and sugar till creamy.
Add the wheat flour, oats, cinnamon powder,salt and mix well with the sugar+butter.
It should look like crumbs. Out of this mixture, reserve 3/4 cup of mixture for topping and keep it aside. Mix almonds to this 3/4 cup flour mix.

3. Grease 2 square pans (9inch) generously with 1 tsp butter.
Divide the remaining flour mixture into 2 and press it onto bottom of baking pan (the thickness of crust should be almost 3/4 inch). Bake for 15 minutes or until the sides turn golden brown.

4. Now take the pans out and spread fruit mixture along with juice evenly over crust to within 1/4 inch.Sprinkle the 3/4 cup mixture with almonds over this fruit layer. Gently pat down for it to set. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely. Using a sharp knife press gently and cut into bars.

Home made fruit snack bar is ready!

Tips:

Makes 28 pieces (approximately).
1 bar will make us extremely satisfied because of the fiber content.
store in airtight container and keep refrigerated.

Approx calories:

1 snack bar may give 140 K cal.