Lest you think I am the bearer of alternate realities, let me start by begging for your pardon as I begin writing this post. After I just finished telling you about my near loathing of dried fruit (last month's post), I return to share a wonderful recipe that features...wait...ready??? Dried Fruit!! I re-thought featuring this recipe since you would deduce that I am not to be believed; however, perhaps it's on me to figure out exactly when I engage with dried fruit? Apparently I engage more than I thought. I think it has something to do with whether or not the fruit loses its soft, gooey chew and individual characteristics and unifies with the cookie/bar to the point where it provides moisture and fruity tang, but not its distinct id. But perhaps I need to chew on this a bit more...
Kitchenality's goal is to share recipes that reflect great flavor, reliability and relative ease of production. Yes, I feature my favorites with a heavy hand on the sweet parts. I hope that this posting and its revisit to dried fruits illustrates that I am not as narrow-minded as I thought 😀
Notes
1. This recipe is slightly time consuming on the front end due to necessary chopping of many of the ingredients. Mindfulness will help...
2. I used salted butter even though the mentor recipe used unsalted. And I used the extra salt as specified in the recipe. You decide what your adventure will be.
3. The package of coconut that I use most often is called desiccated coconut. The difference is in particle size. Desiccated is smaller-sized than shredded. For this post, I used a bit of both since that's what I had on hand.
4. Nope! I haven't misspelled desiccated 😀
5. I resisted chopping whole almonds and use sliced almonds instead. Do it.
6. I used a small bit of vegetable spray on the baking pan before inserting the parchment paper so that it would stick.
7. These bars are delightfully chewy, sweet, tangy, and a bit sticky, and could serve as a snack between meals, a dessert, or alongside your morning yogurt for a more complete meal. They fit many needs.
Chewy Trail Bars
(yield: 16 bars of 2"x 2" size or tailor to your needs)
2 cups quick cooking oats
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt, optional
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons melted butter (I used salted)
1 tablespoon water
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Line an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with parchment paper. Allow for some length to overhang two opposite sides.
3. In a large bowl, combine everything from the oats to the coconut and set to the side.
4. In a smaller bowl, whisk the corn syrup, honey, vanilla, melted butter, and water together until combined.
5. Pour wet ingredients over oat mixture. Using a spoon or your hands mix the ingredients until well combined.
6. Press into the square baking pan, smoothing the top with a spatula or an offset spatula.
7. Place into the oven and bake about 30 minutes until the edges are golden.
8. Remove to a rack and allow to cool completely.
9. Using the parchment paper overhang, lift the mixture from the pan, and cut into bars.
10. Wrap uneaten bars and store in airtight container. Chilling in refrigerator is fine; however, allow bars to come to room temperature before eating.
