Adapted from
Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich
Feel free to use any friendly combination of dried fruits that strikes your fancy in these “Friendship Bars”. The dates really do make the recipe, but I’ve tossed in a scoop of dried sour cherries or cranberries, or
candied ginger as well, with great results. Whatever you do, stick with the quantities below when swapping out other dried fruits and/or nuts.
For those of you who are gluten-free, I imagine you could substitute another starch for the flour, but haven’t tried it. So if you do, please feel free to leave results in the comments. And if you decide to bake these in individual molds, increase the batter according to the capacity of the molds, and omit lining them with foil and just use non-stick spray.
Storage: The bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Individual cakes can be wrapped in plastic.