Fruit Bars

For Easter celebration this year I decided to change a familiar fruitcake bars into tropical ones. Instead of dried apricots I used dried tropical fruit mix (pineapple, papaya, mango) with addition of coconut, rum and lemon juice.

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Fruit Bars

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter melted, 117 g
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar 300 g
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 280 g
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• pinch nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp allspice
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup dried tropical fruit (pineapple papaya, mango), coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 2 Tbsp candied cherries chopped
• FROSTING:
• 12 oz cream cheese softened
• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar sifted
• 1 tsp rum
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 Tbsp dried fruit chopped
• 2 Tbsp walnuts chopped
• 1 Tbsp coconut

Instructions

1. Grease 9×13 inch (22×33 cm) baking dish. Preheat oven to 350 F (170 C).
2. Combine melted butter with brown sugar and let cool.
3. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and allspice.
4. In a large bowl, beat eggs and vanilla. Add butter mixture and mix for 1 minute. Add flour mixture and mix until combined. Stir in dried fruits.
5. Spread batter into the baking dish and bake for about 18-21 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (do not overbake). Cool completely.
6. FROSTING: beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, rum and lemon juice until combined. Frost bars. Sprinkle with dried fruits, walnuts and coconut.