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Master Fruit Bar Recipe

A press-in nut-and-oat crust that doubles as a crumb topping, baked in a 9-by-13 dish with a thickened fruit filling in between. Cut into bars once fully cooled; they keep well for weekday snacks.

18 bars · 165 min · dessert · vegetarian

Ingredients

Crust

  • 1 cup chopped nuts or rolled oats, chopped; 3/4 cup for crust, 1/4 cup reserved for topping
  • ¾ cup whole-wheat pastry flour
  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour, divided
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoon unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
  • 1 piece egg, large
  • 2 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon almond extract

Fruit Filling

  • 4 cup fruit, cooking fruit plus uncooked fruit, per the Variations table

Method

  1. To prepare crust: Combine 3/4 cup nuts (or oats), whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar and salt in a food processor; pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add butter; pulse until well incorporated.
  2. Whisk egg, oil, vanilla and almond extracts in a small bowl. With the motor running, add the mixture to the food processor. Process briefly, then pulse, scraping down the sides, if necessary, until the mixture begins to clump, 30 to 45 seconds (it will look crumbly; PHOTO 1, opposite). Measure out 1/2 cup of the mixture and combine in a bowl with the remaining 1/4 cup chopped nuts (or oats). Set aside for the TOPPING.
  3. Preheat oven to 400°F. Generously coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
  4. To prepare fruit filling & assemble bars: Combine COOKING FRUIT, JUICE, SUGAR & CORNSTARCH in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is very thick, 4 to 5 minutes (PHOTO 2). (It may take up to 10 minutes to get a thick result if you start with frozen fruit.) Stir in UNCOOKED FRUIT and FLAVORING.
  5. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking dish. Spread evenly and press firmly into the bottom to form a crust (PHOTO 3). Spread the fruit filling over the crust (PHOTO 4). Sprinkle the reserved TOPPING over the filling (PHOTO 5).
  6. Bake the bars for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° and bake until the topping is light brown, 25 to 30 minutes more. Let cool completely before cutting into bars, at least 1 1/2 hours.

Notes

MAKES 18 bars. ACTIVE TIME 40 minutes | TOTAL 2 3/4 hours (including 1 1/2 hours cooling time). TO MAKE AHEAD: Cover and refrigerate the crust and topping (Steps 1-2) for up to 1 day. Cover or individually wrap and refrigerate the cooled bars for up to 5 days.