Pear Cranberry bars

I saw a recipe similar to this in a Kids Cooking magazine a while back. I was burning a candle tonight that smelled like toasted apple butter and that made me want a sweet treat that comibined apples with other good things like oatmeal. I realized that I didn't have enough apples to make the original, but I had some pears that I peeled and sliced a while back in my freezer. Now this is what happens when I crave something and don't have the ingredients to make it!

PEAR CRANBERRY BARS

CRUST:

3/4 cup old fashioned oats

3/4 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup toasted almonds or pecans, chopped

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of baking powder

3 Tbsp mashed white beans (the recipe called for butter, but I wanted my healthy boost)

3 Tbsp applesauce (the recipe originally calls for oil, but why not healthify it??)

FILLING:

4 apples (or in my case, pears), diced

1/4 cup craisins or raisins

2 Tbsp honey (or maple syrup or brown sugar)

1 Tbsp whole wheat flour

Mix the dry ingredients for the crust together in 1 bowl. Add mashed beans and applesauce and mix until crumbly. Press half of the crust into the bottom of a greased 8x8 pan.

Add filling ingredients in a different bowl and mix well.

Dump onto crust and top with remaining crust from the bowl and pat down.

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes for fresh apples or 30 minutes for frozen.

It tastes kinda like apple pie with a twist. When serving, I like to serve the pieces upside down. It just looks a little nicer to me!

This recipe has 215 calories for each piece, with 5 grams of fiber and 2.5 grams of protein.