Cranberry Lemon Zing Oat Bars

 These bars were inspired by a seasonal treat at a world-famous coffee chain. I honestly don’t know
what theirs taste like (seeing as it’s not vegan and all), but these are some darn good bars, with a chewy base speckled with tart cranberries and a creamy lemon frosting.

 1½ cups fl our
1 cup quick oats
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
¾ cup margarine, softened
½ cup applesauce
½ teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup dried cranberries
1 recipe Lemon Frosting (page 158)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 11- inch pan with margarine or oil, or line it with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together fl our, oatmeal, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and margarine. Add applesauce and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in two batches. Stir in cranberries and combine until mixed through.
Spread batter in the bottom of the prepared pan and
bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned and a toothpick inser ted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack before frosting with Lemon Frosting. Store bars covered at room temperature.
Yield: 20 BARS
Prep time: 30 MINUTES

Lime Coconut Bars
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease the bottom of an 8 x 8-inch pan with margarine or oil, or line it with parchment paper.
For Base: In a large bowl, combine melted margarine and sugar. Add fl our to combine, then add oats. Press mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan, creating a lip around the edges, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until slightly browned.
For Filling: While crust is baking, combine sugar,
cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan or pot. Stir until well-combined. Add coconut milk and water and cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until boiling, about 10 minutes. Add lime zest and juice and continue stirring until mixture is thick and bubbling. Pour into a separate bowl to let cool completely, stirring every few minutes.
Once lime mixture is cooled, pour into oatmeal shell and sprinkle with toasted coconut, if using. Let bars set in fridge for at least 2 hours before cutting. Store bars covered in the fridge.
Yield: 16 BARS
Prep time: 50 MINUTES
Diffi culty: GGG
BaSE:
½ cup margarine, melted
cup sugar
1 cup fl our
1 cup quick oats
Filling:
cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch pinch of salt
cup low-fat coconut milk
cup water
1 tablespoon lime zest
juice of 2 limes
cup toasted coconut (optional)
Toast coconut in your oven or a toaster
oven by sprinkling it on a clean pan and
baking it at 350 degrees, stirring every 30
to 45 seconds, until golden.
Instead of lime-coconut fi lling, top the
base with the fi lling from Lemon Almond
Torte (page 111) to make Lemon Bars!

Mocha-damia Bars
These bars are all grown-up! Mixing the instant coffee with the wet ingredients gives it time to
start breaking down a bit and gives these bars a subtle kick. If you use salted macadamia nuts,
omit the salt in the recipe.
2 cups fl our
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup margarine, softened
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
¼ cup plain or vanilla yogurt
2 tablespoons instant coffee
(you can add more or less, depending on your tastes)
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup chocolate chips
½ cup chopped macadamia nuts
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13- inch pan with margarine or oil, or line it with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, mix together fl our, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, cream together margarine and sugar using an electric hand mixer. Add yogur t, coffee and vanilla and mix until well-combined. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in two batches and mix until batter is smooth;
you may need to switch to using a spatula. Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until edges are golden brown or a toothpick inser ted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a cooling rack for at least 45 minutes before cutting. Store bars covered at room temperature.
Yield: 15 BARS
Prep time: 30 MINUTES

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
These bars will make you think you’re back in elementary school and your friend with the warm
bologna sandwich is trying to sweet-talk a trade with you. Think again! Concord grape jelly is perfect for the authentic, nostalgic taste, but you can make these bars a little more grown-up with some jam or preserves.
2 cups fl our
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup oil
½ cup peanut butter
¾ cup milk
cup grape jelly
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease an 8 x 8-inch pan with margarine or oil, or line it with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, mix together fl our, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, peanut butter and milk. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in batches until just mixed. Reserve ¾ cup of dough and spread the rest in the bottom of the prepared pan.
Bake base for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the
oven and spread jelly on top of base. Crumble remaining topping over jelly and return the pan to the oven for 15 to 20 minutes until topping is browned and edges are set.
Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack before cutting into bars. Store bars covered at room temperature.
Yield: 12 BARS
Prep time: 25 MINUTES

Oatmeal Earth Bars
These chewy bars use cooked oatmeal to give them moisture and a delicious texture. They make a great snack and are a perfect way to use up leftover oatmeal.
1½ cups fl our
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup applesauce
¼ cup oil
1 cup cooked oatmeal
(traditional or steel-cut)
½ cup dried cherries
½ cup pecans, chopped
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with margarine or oil, or line it with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine fl our, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, combine sugar and applesauce until mixed. Whisk in oil. Add cooked oatmeal and mix until well-incorporated. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in batches until just combined, then stir in cherries and pecans.
Spread batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inser ted into the center comes out clean. The middle of the pan should feel set and the edges should be lightly browned. Let bars cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack before cutting. Store bars covered at room temperature.
Yield: 9 BARS
Prep time: 20 MINUTES

Nuts for Carob Bars
If you’ve been scared off by carob before, give it a try here. Try not to think of it as a chocolate
substitute, because it’s truly not. It’s delicious in its own right and has a unique fl avor. The carob
lends a caramel taste to these bars and combines deliciously with the bananas, nuts and raisins.
1½ cups fl our
cup carob powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large ripe bananas, mashed
¼ cup brown sugar, packed
¼ cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
cup milk
½ cup chocolate (or carob) chips
¼ cup nuts
(such as walnuts or pecans)
½ cup raisins
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 x 8-inch pan with margarine or oil, or line it with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, sift together fl our, carob powder, salt and baking powder. In a large bowl, mix mashed banana, brown sugar, oil and vanilla until well-combined. Add milk. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in two batches. Stir in chocolate chips, nuts and raisins until just mixed. Spread
mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35
minutes or until toothpick inser ted into the center comes out clean. Store bars covered at room temperature.
Yield: 9 BARS
Prep time: 30 MINUTES

Apricot Bars
I absolutely love apricots and you will, too, after trying these buttery bars. The mixture of the firm base, tart preserves and crumbly topping are sure to please your taste buds.
BaSE:
½ cup margarine, softened
½ cup sugar
1¼ cups fl our
¼ teaspoon salt
toPPing:
cup plus 1 tablespoon fl our
¼ cup sugar
3 tablespoons margarine, chilled
1¼ cups apricot preserves
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8 x 8-inch pan with margarine or oil, or line it with parchment paper.
For Base: In a medium bowl, cream together margarine and sugar. In a small bowl, mix fl our and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in batches to make a stiff dough. Spread dough in the bottom of the prepared pan and poke several times with the tines of a fork to make air holes. Bake for 20 minutes.
For Topping: While base is baking, mix together fl our and sugar. Cut in margarine with the back of a fork or pastry cutter until mixture is coarse and crumbly. Keep topping in fridge to keep margarine cool after mixing. After base has baked for 20 minutes, spread preserves over the top and sprinkle topping on.
Return the pan to the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until topping is browned. Remove from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack for 30 minutes before cutting. Store bars covered at room temperature.
Yield: 12 BARS
Prep time: 30 MINUTES

Fudgy Macaroon Bars
Macaroons usually come in one of two varieties: almond or coconut. These bars combine the two for a moist bar with a soft and delicious texture. The almonds add a toothsome touch to the coconut. The Fudgy Frosting takes the whole thing over the edge.
2½ cups sweetened shredded coconut
½ cup almond meal or ground almonds
½ cup fl our
cup sugar
cup applesauce
cup milk
1 tablespoon melted margarine
1 recipe Fudgy Frosting (page 157)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8 x 8-inch pan with margarine or oil, or line it with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, mix coconut, almonds, fl our and sugar until well-combined. Make a well in the middle of the mixture and add applesauce, milk and margarine. Stir until batter is just combined and all of coconut mixture is moist.
Spread batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 to 38 minutes or until lightly browned and center is set. Let cool completely on a cooling rack before frosting with a batch of Fudgy Frosting. Store bars covered in fridge.
Yield: 16 BARS
Prep time: 25 MINUTES