Fruit Bars: Rolled Bar Cookies

Fruit Bars are filled with homey spices, dates, and walnuts. The chilled dough is rolled into logs and sliced into bars when still warm after baking.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Bake time: 15-18 minutes

Makes about 8-10 dozen sliced cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, room temperature

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 cup (8 ounces) chopped dates

1 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 2 teaspoons water

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoons ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup raw or coarse sugar

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating until the mixture is smooth.
In a small bowl combine dates with dissolved baking soda.
On a low speed, blend date mixture into creamed butter mixture. Gradually blend in dry ingredients to creamed mixture, adding a bit at a time and mixing until smooth. Use a wooden spoon to stir in nuts.
Cover bowl securely with plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator until firm, 1-2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350º F. Lightly grease baking sheets.
Divide dough into 10-12 balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a long log, about 10 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. Set two logs on a prepared baking sheet, about 5 inches apart. Lightly press along the top of each log to flatten its upper surface. Sprinkle flattened log surfaces with coarse sugar.
Bake cookies for 15-18 minutes until golden brown. Remove baking sheets from the oven. Use a sharp knife to cut cookie logs diagonally into ½ inch – ¾ inch bars. Let cookies cool for about 5 minutes on baking sheets before using a spatula to remove them from the sheet to a cooling rack.
Allow cookies to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

A Special Tip from The Elf

If you prefer chewy Fruit Bars, bake for about 15 minutes. If you like cookies to be crisper, bake up to 18 minutes.

More Yummy Rolled Cookies Recommended by The Elf

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