Power Bars

Last spring we went to the Caribbean island of St. John in the U.S.V.I.  And it was awesome.  

Something we do every time our family goes there: the snorkel sail on the Pepper.  That's a bunch of nouns bunched together, I know, but hear me out:

1. Get on sailboat, which is called the Pepper.  It is a very nice boat owned by some very nice people.

2. Get sailed to a point in the ocean.

3. Get out and snorkel around.

4. Get back in the boat and, on the way home, eat a fantabulous and healthy lunch with the crew of two.

In other words, a very fun day.

And I had the fortune to taste some homemade and deee-licious power bars during that lunch.

Now, Pepper's owners have recently written a book called Between the Sheets.  It's about their clients that they take on those snorkeling sails (not me, I assure you! xD) and the people in the house that they rent out on St. John.

It's a great book that aptly describes island life - where time is an approximation - and it also has some island recipes.

Including those power bars.

So of course I made them.

And they're just as good as the first time I had them.  And they're very satisfying to make.  But they make a lot - two whole 9x13 inch pans - just warning ya!

Power Bars

4 cups oats

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup flour

2 sticks butter, melted

6 eggs

1/4 cup applesauce

1/4 cup honey

1 tablespoon vanilla

Dash of cinnamon

2 cups dried fruit mix, chopped (preferably pineapple, papaya, mango, and coconut)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease two 9x13 inch pans.
2. Combine oats, brown sugar, and flour in a large bowl.
3. Combine with melted butter.
4. Stir in eggs, applesauce, honey, and vanilla.
5. Add cinnamon and combine thoroughly.
6. Stir in fruit mix.
7. Spread evenly into two prepared pans and bake 20 minutes
8. DO NOT REMOVE FROM OVEN.  Turn oven off and keep pans inside until the bars are no longer gooey.
9. Remove and let cool completely before cutting.

Breaking it down:

Combine your oats, brown sugar, and flour...

This is incredibly fun to make because there's so much of it and it just requires a wooden spoon! :D

Add butter...

And eggs...

And vanilla and applesauce and honey and cinnamon.  Yes, I know that's not applesauce over there.  I had no applesauce to work with and I desperately wanted to make these, so I substituted crushed pineapple inside.  Let me tell you, applesauce works and tastes better.  Although maybe it's slightly less tropical.  Your choice!

Add the chopped fruit - and yes, you DO need to chop it even though it's already chopped.  Just chop it into quarters, whatever kind of fruit it is, and you should be fine.

Bake the bars at 350 degrees for 20 minutes and let them cool in the oven if they're still gooey.  I've made these bars twice and they always have been gooey...

But delicious.  And semi-healthy!

Enjoy!
-JJ

P.S. You probably noticed the awkward change in font.  That's because my computer was being screwy and I had to do some very technical copying-and-pasting, and I'm just wayyy too lazy to go back and retype it in the proper font.  If you didn't notice, then I guess you haven't spent too much time on my blog yet!  Look at the suggested posts below to explore! :D