Tonight I made a pan of the Raisin Bars from the More-with-Less Cookbook. These are not the same as the Hillbilly Housewife's Raisin Bars, which are also very good but which are more like flat muffins. The MWL version is just date squares but made with raisins. You make a filling on top of the stove by simmering raisins, water, cornstarch, a bit of sugar, and lemon juice until thickened and soft; then sandwich between two layers of oatmeal-based dough, as for date squares. Bake for half an hour at 375 degrees, or until the top dough is the right shade of brown (the recipe says 400 degrees, but that's too hot in our oven).
The frugal twist? I had a bit of cranberry jelly in the fridge, left from Easter, so I mixed that into the raisins at the end. I also sprinkled the mixture with a spoonful of cinnamon-sugar before adding the top layer of dough. It made the bars taste a bit like mince pie, but I kind of like it that way.
If you cut them and eat them while they're still warm, you'll probably have to use a fork. If you let them sit longer, they'll cut better.
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