Maple Fruit Bars

Well, for those of you who have seen 101cookbooks.com, please forgive my lack of talent as a food photographer. The bars are better than the picture. ;) Anyway, today I used some raspberry freezer jam I made this year, but next time I will try roasted apples. (I roasted some yesterday with a little butter and cinnamon and water in the bottom of the pan, next time I'll use apple juice.) I'll bet some berries in the middle layer would be tasty, too.

Maple Fruit Bars

1/4 cup flax meal

1 3/4 cup whole grain flour (wheat, spelt or barley - probably oats, too)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup maple syrup (I actually used a little less)

2 cups oatmeal

Whisk together the dry ingredients, then cut in softened butter. If you have a food processor, give the dry ingredients a spin and then add in slices of butter and process until it's all mixed in. Now add the syrup a little at a time until the dough comes together and/or it is as sweet as you want it. Moosh about half of the dough into a 9x9 or 5x11ish (that's the size I used) pan. Spread on your choice of fruit filling and then crumble the remaining dough on top.

Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes, it may varie depending on how moist your fruit of choice is. Let cool and cut into squares.