With the Holidays upon us, many of us are busy in the kitchen making special treats for our special people.  My friends know they can expect the unexpected when it comes to my treats.

I am often trying new flavor combinations and found this while looking for new ones for my weekly baked oatmeal.  I make a baking dish full each week and divide into daily servings and freeze for the week to come.  I use many types of dried fruit for this and recently bought a nice quality bag of dried mango.

Tasting pieces of mango with different types of nuts lead me to a wonderful combination of mango and almonds.  They really go together and make you smile (I sure did!).  I decided to try a little ginger with it and found that ground ginger alone didn’t quite give me what I wanted.  So I tried crystallized ginger along with a smaller amount of ground ginger. It added just the right note without overwhelming the bar.

These come together quickly, with the food processor doing the work for you.  Clean up is easy with only the processor and the baking dish getting dirty.

I made these for my staff at work who where not able to attend some of our celebrations to let them know that their efforts have not gone unnoticed.  My family liked them as well and have extracted promises to make them again when they won’t be headed out the door for someone else to enjoy.

You’ll need:

For the crust:

8 Tbs unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup raw sugar

pinch of kosher salt

For the filling:

1 1/2 cups dried mango, cut into 1/2 inch size pieces

1 cup of sliced almonds

1 tbs crystallized ginger, cut into fine pieces

For the batter:

3 large eggs

2/3 cup raw sugar

1/2 Tbs vanilla extract

2 tbs lime juice

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 Tbs baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp ground ginger

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Grease a 9 x13 baking dish.

In your food processor, combine flour, sugar, salt and cold butter pieces.  Pulse the processor until the  mixture looks crumbly.  Pour mixture into the baking dish. (It will be very crumbly) With an offset spatula, press the crust down firmly over the bottom of the dish.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Set aside to cool slightly.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350 F.

Sprinkle the mango, then the almonds and lastly the ginger, evenly over your crust.

Using your processor again (no need to wash it), make your batter.  Add 3 eggs, sugar, vanilla, and juice.  Mix for about 20-30 secs.  Then add flour, salt, baking powder, and ground ginger and process again for 20-30 secs.  Pour batter over fruit and nuts.  It makes a fairly thin layer so spread evenly.  Bake for 25 minutes until top is nicely browned.  Remove and cool in pan before cutting into bars. Try not to nibble on them too much and be sure to save some for your family before giving the rest away.

Be ready for big smiles for such little bites.  Enjoy!