We got this recipe from a friend of my mom’s many years ago (I think, but am not sure that she got the idea from Sue Greg’s cookbooks). They are an attempt to make a sweet dessert/snack type thing without using refined sugar or flour. Our families were seeking a healthier lifestyle at the time, so these are health food that does not taste like health
food. These are very sweet, very rich, and rather high in calories, but so very worth it.
Ingredients:
Filling:
1 – 20oz Can Crushed Pineapple (Pinapple Chunks also work or you could cut up rings)
¼ Cup Water
3 Cups Diced Dates
1 Cup Applesauce
1 ½ teaspoons Vanilla
Crust:
1 ¼ Cup Millet Flour (if you do not have Millet Flour, just use regular all purpose flour)
3 ½ Cups Rolled Oats
1 ¼ cup Unsweetened Coconut
1 ¼ cup Juice (I use apple, you could use orange or pineapple)
Step By Step Instructions and Photos:
Put Pineapple, Water, Dates, and Applesauce into saucepan and cook until thickened and the dates soften a bit. You could do this on Low, stirring occasionally, or on Medium stirring constantly. This has a strong tendancy to stick. My dates were rather old and hard, so they did not soften at all when the mixture was thickened, so I added another ½ cup water and cooked until it was thick again.
Meanwhile, mix Flour, Oats, and Coconut in mixing bowl. Add Juice while stirring. This will make what appears to be a clumpy mess – this is good, it will all work out in the end.
Press about 2/3 of crust mixture into bottom of 9x13 pan. Press down with a spatula to make a firm crust.
Stir Vanilla into thickened filling mixture. Pour filling over bottom crust.
Sprinkle remaining crust mixture on top and press (very lightly to keep filling from oozing up) to flatten on top.
Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until slightly browned on top.
These bars can be served hot, room temperature, or cold. They will hold up best and cut more nicely if they are cold.
