apricot-cherry bars with oatmeal crumble topping

Ingredients

• Servings: 50
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups sweetened, flaked coconut
• 2 cups sliced almonds
• 2 cups dried cherries
• 2 cups dried apricots, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk

Recipe

• adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 325 degrees. spray a 13-by-9-inch pyrex baking pan with vegetable cooking spray. set aside.
• in a medium bowl, mix flour, oats, brown sugar and salt. stir in butter with a fork until well mixed and clumps have formed. spread 1 1/2 packed cups of oat mixture over the bottom of the pan, pressing to form a thin crust.
• mix coconut, almonds, cherries, apricots and milk in a large bowl. pour over crust, using a rubber spatula to evenly distribute and press down. sprinkle remaining oat mixture over dried fruit filling.
• bake until lightly golden, about 30 minutes. cool to room temperature. (you can cover and store at room temperature up to 2 days.)
• to serve, cut into generous 1 1/2-inch squares.