Charoset Bars

Serves 12 INGREDIENTS

3cups superfine blanched almond flour

¾ cup sugar

½ cup walnut or grapeseed oil

1extra-large egg

1½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided

1ripe pear or Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and roughly chopped

14 plump medjool dates, pitted (about 10 ounces)

¼ cup dry red wine

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ cup chopped walnuts (about 2 ounces)

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 350degrees. Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, stir together the almond flour, sugar, oil, egg and 1 teaspoon salt until combined into a smooth dough. Remove 1 cup of the dough and set aside. Using your hands, press the remaining dough into the bottom of the prepared pan in an even layer. Bake for 12 minutes, until lightly puffed. Cool for 5minutes.

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the pear, dates, wine, cinnamon and remaining ½ teaspoon salt until pasty, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed (it should resemble mortar, just like the story of the Exodus!).

Add the walnuts to the reserved 1cup of dough and mix with your fingers to combine. Spread the charoset filling over the cooled baked dough and crumble the walnut mixture over the top. Bake for 18minutes, until browned around the edges. Cut the bars into squares and store in an airtight container (use parchment paper if layering). Store at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for up to a week.

To freeze, wrap squares individually in plastic wrap, transfer to a zip-top bag and freeze for up to 2 months.

— From “Totally Kosher: Tradition with a Twist! 150+ Recipes for the Holidays and Every Day”

by Chanie Apfelbaum (Clarkson Potter, $37.50)

COURTESY OF CHANIE APFELBAUM Charoset, the fruit, nut and wine relish on the Passover Seder plate, gets an update in bar form in Chanie Apfelbaum's new cookbook, “Totally Kosher.”