If you need a little pick-me-up today, you’ve stumbled across my blog at just the right time! These date bars are one of our all time favorite sweet treats recipes from our even sweeter friend, Leslie Cassell.
Now, before you say that you don’t like dates, hear me: That doesn’t matter. You will LOVE these. Dates will be last thing on your mind as these gooey bars crumble in your mouth.
In our home, we believe in moderation. Yes, you’ll find our fridge full of fruits, veggies, hummus, almond milk and other clean ingredients, but we love to enjoy sweet treats every now and then too.
But to help me find ways to say “no” to most treats, I reserve my splurges for home-made goodies! For starters, nothing can beat the taste of a fresh, homemade treat. And secondly, we think it’s important to know what ingredients are and where they’re coming from.
So no, this recipe is definitely not low-calorie, but it does hold some nutritional value between the dates, nuts, oats, and coconut. Plus, you can bask in the satisfaction of knowing where all of your ingredients came from. And it makes for some pretty fun memories in the kitchen too.
We hope this will become a new favorite recipe for your family like it has been for ours! Enjoy!
What you will need:
- 8 oz. chopped dates
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup hot water
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cup oats
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 cup chopped nuts
- 1 1/2 cups coconut
- 2 sticks (1 cup) melted butter
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook together chopped dates, sugar, and water on stove at low heat until thickened. About 20 minutes.
- Remove from stove and add vanilla.
- Mix the rest of the ingredients in a mixer until well blended to make the dough.
- Put half of the dough mixture in a greased 9×13 pan, then cover with date mixture. Crumble the rest of the dough mixture over the top.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, it should be bubbly and browned.
- Enjoy!
