Pour 2 cups/500 mL boiling water over pears; soak for 12 hours at room temperature.

Toast oats on baking sheet in 400°F/ 200°C conventional or convection oven, stirring halfway through, until light golden, 8 to 10 minutes.

In food processor, purée pears, pear soaking liquid and dates. Scrape into heavy-bottomed saucepan; boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until quite a bit drier and very thick, 10 to 13 minutes.

Add oats, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. Cook, stirring, until mixture becomes a solid mass that is difficult to stir, 8 to 10 minutes. Fold in hazelnuts.

Scrape into parchment paper-lined 9-inch/23 cm square baking dish; smooth top. (Or, turn out mixture onto parchment paper-lined baking sheet and, with wetted spatula, shape into 9-inch/23 cm square.) Let cool completely.

Cut into eighteen 3- x 1-1/2-inch/8 x 4 cm bars; wrap individually in plastic. Store in airtight container for up to 1 month.

Makes 18 bars.

Variation:

Chocolate Pear and Hazelnut Energy Bars Chop 1 bar (100 g) dark (70 to 80%) chocolate. Fold into mixture along with the hazelnuts.

 Per bar: about 198 cal, 3 g pro, 7 g total fat (2 g sat. fat), 34 g carb, 6 g fibre, 0 mg chol, 46 mg sodium, 277 mg potassium. % RDI: 3% calcium, 8% iron, 3% vit C, 2% folate.