APRICOT AND DATE BARS

Apricot and Date Bars image

Provided by Betty Crocker Kitchens

Categories Dessert

Time 2h10m

Yield 24

Number Of Ingredients 8

2 cups orange juice
3/4 cup chopped pitted dates
3/4 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/3 cup apricot jam
1 pouch Betty Crocker™ snickerdoodle cookie mix
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Steps:

In 2-quart saucepan, mix orange juice, dates, apricots and cherries. Heat to boiling over medium heat. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 30 minutes. Drain. In small bowl, mix dried fruit and apricot jam.
Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, place cookie mix and cinnamon-sugar packet. Cut in butter, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through mix in opposite directions), until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture. Press remaining mixture in bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool.
Top partially baked crust with fruit mixture. Mix reserved 1 1/2 cups crumb mixture and the pecans. Sprinkle over fruit mixture.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack, about 1 hour. Cut into 6 rows by 4 rows.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 190, Carbohydrate 30 g, Fat 1 1/2, Fiber 2 g, Protein 1 g, SaturatedFat 3 g, ServingSize 1 Serving, Sodium 170 mg