Fruit And Nut Bars - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 cup water
1/2 cup chopped dates (or other dried fruit)
1/2 cup chopped prune (or other dried fruit)
1/2 cup raisins (use golden or dark)
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup apple butter or 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla (if you are using almonds as your nuts, almond extract would work well here)
1 cup whole wheat flour (a combination would also work) or 1 cup all-purpose flour (a combination would also work)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 - 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preparation

Bring 1 cup water to boil in a medium suacepan along with the butter and dried fruit . Reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Mix in the apple butter or apple sauce. Allow the fruit combination to cool 10-20 minutes. (Tip: Dried fruit can be quite sticky when chopping. Lightly spray your knife with cooking spray first and the task will go more quickly.).
Mix together the flour, baking soda, spices and nuts in a bowl. Beat together the egg and egg whites. Add beaten eggs, vanilla, and fruit slurry to the bowl with the flour mix and stir until combined.
Bake in 9 inch pan square pan at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.
Allow to fully cool before trying to cut and serve.