Sugarless prune oat bars

This is a healthier version of my apricot oat bars. The reasons why?. They are made with the very nutritious prunes, and instead of regular brown sugar I use splenda brown sugar blend, it has half of the calories, so you will feel even better when you have this guilty free pleasure over and over again. Another great thing about these bars is that you can make your own jam!, it’s incredibly easy and you can have it also as a yogurt topping or over a toasted bagel, and it will be healthy and divine at the same time.       

You will feel pleased and healthy just by having these great prune bars, full of fiber and energy, and the best part of all, sugarless bites. Tell me, what else can you ask for?. Hope you love them as I do! 

Makes 24 (2 ½ inch) bars

Ingredients

For the jam:

250 grs pitted prunes

¼ packed cup splenda brown sugar blend **

¾ cup water

For the crust mixture:

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour

½ packed cup splenda brown sugar blend **

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

¾ tsp salt

¾ tsp baking soda

1 ¾ cups old fashioned rolled oats

1 cup walnuts, chopped

16 tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

1 large egg, beaten, at room temperature

1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

Note: If you want to make the prune oat bars with regular brown sugar just duplicate the quantity of splenda brown sugar blend required in the recipe.**

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the jam ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the prunes are tender. Remove from heat. Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes and process with a hand blender or a food processor to get a smooth jam.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Then stir in the oats and walnuts. Add the butter, egg, and vanilla and stir until the ingredients are incorporated.

Using your fingers, press half of the crust mixture onto the bottom of the prepared pan (9x13x2 inch metal baking dish lined with parchment paper). Spread the jam over the crust, leaving a small border around the edge of the pan. Cover the filling with the remaining crust mixture and gently press to flatten. Don’t worry if there are jam spaces left uncovered.

Bake for 35 minutes, until light golden. Cool for 1hour. Cut into bars.

Enjoy!