Tuesdays with Dorie DC: Mincemeat-Oatmeal (Raisin) Bars

December 15, 2020 at 7:59 pm | Posted in cookies & bars, DC, groups, sweet things, tuesdays with dorie | 5 Comments
Tags: baking, cookies, holiday

These Mincemeat-Oatmeal Bars are Dorie’s “Playing Around” take on her Raisin Bars, with a jammy raisin filling sandwiched between two layers of delicious oatmeal-almond cookie dough. Actually, maybe they are my take on the “Playing Around” take, as I made a very off-the-cuff approximation of a (meatless) mincemeat filling. I don’t even know if I’ve ever had mincemeat, but it is the holidays, so why not give it a shot? I swapped out a couple of spoonfuls of the raisins for candied orange peel, added a few grates of fresh ginger and a big shake of mixed spice and cooked it down in apple juice. Mardi mentioned that she found the Raisin Bars to be too sweet, so I kept that in mind and didn’t sweeten my mix until I’d cooked and thickened it. A little sprinkling of maple sugar was all I thought it needed.

The same cookie dough, made with oatmeal, brown sugar and almonds, forms both the crust and the topping to these bars. It’s like an oatmeal crisp really, and basically any fruit jam would work sandwiched in the middle. I used to make very similar bar cookies for family meal meal at work, using up whatever fruit was on the way out (or often pâte de fruit scrap) for the jam. The only thing I did differently here was to pre-bake the crust layer for ten-ish minutes before finishing the bars. I’m not sure it was necessary, but I knew I’d have these around for a few days, and I planned to bring a couple to the trainers still at the gym, so I wanted to be sure they had a stable base.

There was a time in life when I wouldn’t have touched a raisin, but I’ve really come around in recent years and I thought one of these bars with a scoop of vanilla ice cream was, well, *chef’s kiss*. Oh, and the dudes at the gym requested more, but they’re all gone now, so it’s on to the next…

For the recipe, see Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TWD Blogroll!

5 Comments »

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This is BRILLIANT! I love it! Noting in the book for another time!

Comment by Mardi (eat. live. travel. write.)— December 15, 2020 #

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- thank you!!
  
  Comment by steph (whisk/spoon)— December 15, 2020 #
  
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I am glad that you are all back at the gym. I miss my gym so much. These were delicious and a hit with my raisin lover.

Comment by Diane Zwang— December 15, 2020 #

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I am inspired by your enhancement of the recipe! These went over well with my group as well! Cool that you are back in the gym…not much is open here in CA.

Comment by isthisakeeper— December 17, 2020 #

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Weren’t these delish!! I would make these again. I only made 6 because they were just for me.

Comment by Cakelaw— December 19, 2020 #

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