Date & Pecan Oat Bars {Vegan}
A delicious snack, breakfast, or dessert with the texture of an oatmeal cookie and full of sweet, caramely dates.
Hi everyone! Today I have a delicious, moist and crumbly oat bar recipe for you. Its texture is almost oatmeal-cookie-like and is full of sweet, caramely dates and toasty pecans.
Traditional oat bars are chocked full of butter, sometimes several sticks, but this recipe is butter-free and perfect for snacks, breakfast, or even dessert. Get crazy with your healthy self!
Just a note about substituting flours: I have tested this recipe with White Whole Wheat flour successfully. All-Purpose flour definitely yields softer and less dense bars, but the Whole Wheat flour added a subtle nuttiness and made them more filling. If I were making them just for myself I would use either flour, but for company I would recommend using All-Purpose.
If you have any extra dates make sure you check out my Healthy Paydays recipe, it only takes 2 ingredients. Seriously!
Date & Pecan Oat Bars {Vegan}
Yields 36
A delicious snack, breakfast, or dessert with the texture of an oatmeal cookie and full of sweet, caramely dates.
Ingredients
2 cups Water
2 cups Chopped Pitted Dried Dates
1 1/2 cups All-Purpose or White Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup packed Brown Sugar
1 cup Old Fashioned Oats
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons Cinnamon or Apple Pie Spice
1/2 cup roughly chopped Pecans
1/4 cup Coconut Oil, melted
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F and line an 8x8" pan with parchment paper.
Bring water and dates to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 10 to 15 minutes until thick, stirring occasionally.
In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, oats, baking soda, salt, and pecans. Then stir in coconut oil and 1/2 cup of the cooked date mixture until moistened and crumbly.
Press half of the crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan, then layer the rest of the date mixture. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top and very gently press to combine.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden on top.
Let cool completely before removing from the pan and cutting into small squares.
