Fruit Bars

This recipe was in our newspaper earlier this month and featured raspberries and peaches for the filling. I have modified the recipe and doubled the size. These bars are not sweet and make a good breakfast-on-the-run on a busy morning. Increase the sweetener if you prefer a bar that is more dessert-like. Experiment with different combinations of fruit in season.

Prepare 6 cups of fresh or frozen fruit. I used 2 cups each of strawberries, peaches and blueberries.

Combine fruit in a medium sauce pan with:
4 tbsp cornstarch
2/3 cup orange juice

Cook until filling is thickened. (I cooked the strawberries and peaches in some of the juice for a few minutes and then added the rest of the juice with the cornstarch and blueberries)

Mix together in a large bowl to make crumbs:
3 cups large flake rolled oats
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar ( I used 100% Splenda in the squares pictured above, but they do brown better with at least half sugar. You could also use honey or maple syrup)
1 cup soft butter

Reserve 1-1/4 cups of the crumbs in another dish
Add one egg to the remaining crumbs and press batter into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Spread thickened fruit on top and sprinkle with reserved crumbs.

Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes or until filling is bubbly. Cool at least 30 minutes before cutting into squares.