I created this recipe is for a friend in Canada who loved the Skip the Sugar Apricot Bars but doesn’t really like apricots.
Ingredients
For Pastry
- 1 cup (125 g) oat or sorghum flour
- ¼ cup (30 g) Bob’s Red Mill brown rice flour
- ¼ cup (28 g) flax meal
- ¼ cup (25 g) teff flour or rice bran
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) vegetable oil
- ½ cup (120 ml) apple juice
- Dash of salt
- ½ teaspoon (1.2 g) ground cinnamon
For Apple Berry Filling
- 1 1/3 cups (315 ml) apple juice
- 1 tablespoon (8 g) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon (2.3 g) ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (175 g) packed sulfite-free dried apple pieces
- ½ cup (70 g) fresh blueberries or raspberries
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) rice milk, safe milk alternative, or apple juice
How to Make It
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C, or gas mark 6). To make the Pastry
- In a food processor, combine all pastry ingredients and pulse until crumbly. Process until the mixture forms into a ball. Set aside. To make the Filling
- Whisk together apple juice, starch, and cinnamon in a saucepan. Stir in apples. Cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes. Turn off heat and let cool slightly. Stir in berries.
- Grease a 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33-cm) baking pan or a springform pan. Divide dough into two equal balls. Place one ball on a piece of nonstick parchment paper or plastic wrap and cover with an additional piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap. With a rolling pin, roll dough into a thin rectangle or disc the size of your prepared pan. Repeat with second dough ball and set aside.
- Place the first dough piece into the pan and press in firmly. Cut off excess dough around the edges.
- Pour the apple berry mixture into a blender or food processor and purée into a paste. Spread the apple paste over the top of the dough in the pan.
- Lay the second dough piece over the top of the apple berry mixture. Flatten slightly. Push dough into corners to seal the bars. Cut off excess dough around edges, if needed.
- Brush the top of the bars with rice milk or apple juice. Prick the top of the pastry with a fork.
- Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until bars are firm when tapped. Let cool completely. Cut into squares or bars.