Vegan Pineapple Bars

Heat oven to 350 degrees. 1 Package Trader Joe’s Dried Pineapple, unsweetened, unsulfured ¾ Cup Pineapple Juice 1/2 Cup Water Directions: Tear pineapple into a few pieces and place in small sauce pan. Add juice and water to the pan. Place pan on medium heat and bring to a simmer. Use a spoon to mix the fruit into the liquid as it simmer. Simmer for two minutes and remove from heat. Let pineapple steep in liquid while making dough. 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour 1 Cup Whole Oats 1 Cup Walnut Halves ½ tsp. Cinnamon, ground ½ tsp. Baking Soda 1 Pinch Salt Directions: Place all of the ingredients into a food processor. Run the processor until the oats and walnuts are ground into a coarse flour. Remove flour from processor and place in a small mixing bowl. Strain off ¼ cup of liquid from the cooked pineapple and reserve. Place the strained fruit and the remainder of the liquid into the food processor. Puree by running the processor for about half a minute. ¼ Cup Brown Rice Syrup ¼ Cup Safflower Oil ¼ Cup Reserved liquid from the strained fruit Add the rice syrup, oil and reserved liquid to the dry ingredients in the bowl. Mix well by hand to form crumbly dough. Divide the dough into a 60 / 40 split using the 60 % of the dough to form the bottom. Sprinkle the 60 % dough evenly into a 8 x 10 inch baking dish to form the bottom. Using moistened hands, press the dough evenly into the dish to form a bottom crust. Using a spoon, spread the pineapple puree over the crust to form an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining dough over the fruit. Press the dough gently into the fruit to form the top crust. It does not have to be a solid layer, a few holes will expose the fruit. Bake in oven for 28 minutes. Remove and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for six hours or overnight. Cut into 18 bars and serve