This recipe is easy to make with kids and it doesn't take too long - which is helpful if some kids have a short attention span.
Ingredients
A non-stick cooking spray
4 cups of Quaker oats *
1 cup of dried plums, loosely chopped, and soaked for a few minutes in hot water.
1 cup of chopped walnuts
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 cups of brown sugar, hard packed
3/4 cup of butter
* Any plain oats will work.
Tools
one medium saucepan
one large bowl
a baking pan, measuring 15 by 10 inches - or as close as you can get to that size.
wooden spoons, knife, spatula
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Soak the dried plums in hot water for a couple of minutes or until soft. While the plums are soaking, spray the 15x10 baking pan with the cooking spray and set aside. In the large bowl combine the oats, walnuts, cinnamon, salt and then add the drained dried plums. In medium saucepan place the brown sugar and butter and, mixing constantly, heat the mixture until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Pour this butter/sugar mixture over the dry ingredients, stirring well to make sure everything is well-coated. Pour this mixture into the baking pan, pressing the mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until edges are golden brown. While the bars are still hot, cut into 24 bars, but don't remove them yet. Allow the recipe to cool completely in the pan and then recut the bars and remove them with a spatula. The bars might stick a little bit.