Sweet Treat Friday- Berry Bars

This recipe is a cross between fruit bars and granola bars. I wanted a different kind of bar and after trying out several recipes I just combined several together to make this.  It works well with any dried fruit, but the best is using a mix of dried berries.

Ingredients for filling

1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup water
2 1/2 cups dried fruit (the fruit used in the picture is blueberries, strawberries and cherries)
1 to 2 tablespoons corn starch

Directions for fruit filling

In a saucepan combine the sugar water and fruit. Cook while stirring constantly until bubbly. Add the corn starch and stir (one tablespoon at a time. Out of 3 batches, I only needed one and a half tablespoons) . It should get very thick very fast, almost like pie filling. Remove from heat and let cool completely

Ingredients for bars

1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup quick cooking oats ( old fashion rolled oats are fine to sub)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup cold butter
1 tablespoon water
Directions for bars

In a medium bowl combine flour salt and baking powder to stir. Mix in oats and brown sugar. Cut the butter in and mix till crumbly. Sprinkle tablespoon of water. Mix together. Pat half the mixture into a 13in by 9in baking pan. Pat it down into the pan.
Spread the fruit mixture over the crust. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over the fruit mixture and pat gently to make even.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool completely and cut into bars or squares to size. You can get 48 bars or twice as many squares. Perfect morning or after school snack.

Enjoy!