Nothing’s easier than a bar recipe that you stir up in a pan and bake! This recipe is from my mother-in-law’s collection, and I doubled the spices to make these moist, fruity bars a truly memorable treat!
½ cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup raisins
1 8-oz. pkg. chopped dates
½ tsp. salt
1 T. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
2 cups flour
¾ cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp. each vanilla and baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
Preheat oven to 350º. Spray/grease a 10×15-inch pan. In a 2-quart saucepan on the stove, combine shortening, sugar, water, raisins, dates, and the spices. Simmer gently for 3 minutes and remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients until mixture is well blended. Spread batter in pan and bake about 15 minutes, or until center is set. While bars bake, make the frosting. Place bars on a rack to cool, and frost the bars while still hot. Cool completely before cutting.
Frosting
2 ½ – 3 cups powdered sugar
2 T. softened butter
¼ cup milk
Dash of salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. of rum or almond flavoring