Sweets | Anytime Bars

Posted on March 23, 2013

February was a bad month for me. Long story short, what started out as chest pains on February 3rd ended up being Primary Mediastinal Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma. Yep, the "C" word. One of the first thoughts I had was "What would I eat during my treatment?" I found the cookbook The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen and decided to make it my go-to book for recipe ideas. I made these Anytime Bars and have them in the freezer for snacks.

Yield: 25 servings

Ingredients

1 cup raw pecan halves

1 cup whole raw almonds

2 tablespoons spelt flour

2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons finely ground flaxseeds

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup pitted dates, quartered (preferably Medjool)

1 cup unsulfered dried apricots, cut in half

1 organic egg

5 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly oil a 9-inch square pan.

Spread the pecans in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and toast for 7 to 10 minutes, until aromatic and slightly browned. Watch them carefully, as they can burn easily. Repeat this process for the almonds. Turn down the oven to 325°F.

Combine the spelt flour, all-purpose flour, flaxseeds, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a food processer and process for 5 seconds to combine. Add the pecans and almonds and pulse 5 times to coarsely chop the nuts. Add the oats, dates, and apricots and pulse 10 to 15 times, until the mixture is well chopped but still coarse.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg, maple syrup, and vanilla together until thoroughly combined. Add the fruit and nut mixture and use your hands to mix thoroughly, being sure to separate any clumps of fruit. Spread the mixture in the oiled baking pan in an even layer and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until set and golden brown; don't overbake, or the bars will be too dry. Let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then cut into 25 squares. Leave the bars in the pan until completely cool so they'll hold together when you remove them.

 

(Ref. "Anytime Bars" recipe, The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen, page 126.)