Friday Foods – Harvest Bars

September means that it’s officially fall food season! Bring on the pumpkin, the maple, and the hearty, comforting meals. This baked bar from A Fork in the Trail can be eaten as breakfast or a snack, and contains just the right amount of nutmeg to taste like September, if September had a taste.

Harvest Bars

Makes 16 servings

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8  teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

1/2 cup honey

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 egg

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup wheat germ

3/4 cup lightly packed dark brown

sugar

1/4 cup dried pears, chopped

1/4 cup dried apples, chopped

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

At Home

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Mix the spices and liquid ingredients together in a small bowl. Combine all of the dry ingredients in another larger bowl. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until the liquid mix is distributed evenly throughout the dry ingredients.

Lightly butter the bottom of a 9-inch by 13-inch nonstick baking pan and then line it with parchment paper. Lightly oil the top of the parchment paper. Press the mixture firmly into the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden brown.

Place the pan on a wire rack and cool completely before removing the bars from the pan. Turn the bars out onto a board. Cut into 16 bars and wrap each in waxed paper. Package the bars in a ziplock. Freeze them if you aren’t going to use them right away.