Sunday, July 3, 2011

Oatmeal Bars - quick breakfast, fast snack . . .

I'm always looking for 'sneaky' cookies for the family . . . You know, the ones that actually have some good things in them. What is better than an oatmeal fruit bar? With the summer heating up, I like the idea of a cookie that is baked in one pan so the oven is on and off as quickly as possible.

Easy Oatmeal Bars

2/3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup applesauce (I like unsweetened but use what you have on hand)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries (Diced, dried apricots are good, too!)

Beat the sugar, applesauce, and oil until well blended. Combine all except the fruit and add to the sugar/applesauce mixture and mix well. Stir in your choice of dried fruit.

Spread the batter into a greased, oblong baking pan (about 13x9-inch) or two smaller pans. Using vegetable oil spray cuts a few calories.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until the edges of the cookie bars start to brown. Cool and cut into bars.

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