Date and nut bars
Date and nut bars are a wholesome snack that needs no added sugar or oven, relying only on the natural stickiness of dates to bind the nuts together. Each bar is sweet with the caramel notes of dates and crunchy and nutty from almonds and walnuts, perfect to take to work or eat before a workout.
- Difficulty
- Very easy
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 0 min
- Rising or chilling
- 2 hr
- Total time
- 2 hr 20 min
- Method
- Chilled
Ingredients
Instructions
Step 1
Soak 300 g pitted dates in a bowl of warm water for about ten minutes, then lift them out and pat them very dry with paper towels. Soft dates are easier for the food processor to blend smoothly and help the mixture stick together better. The dates are ready when they feel very soft when squeezed but have no water left on the surface.
Step 2
Toast 120 g whole almonds and 80 g walnuts in a dry pan over medium heat for about five minutes, stirring constantly, then let them cool completely. A light toasting brings out their rich aroma and keeps the nuts crunchy longer in the bars. The nuts are ready when they smell clearly fragrant and the insides have turned a pale ivory.
Step 3
Put the cooled nuts and 50 g rolled oats in a food processor and pulse a few times to break them into small pieces, then add the dates, 20 g desiccated coconut, 10 g coconut oil, 3 g vanilla extract and a pinch salt and keep pulsing until it comes together. Pulsing in short bursts keeps some chunky nut pieces instead of turning everything into nut butter. The mixture is ready when a handful squeezed together holds firmly in a clump while you can still see pieces of nuts.
Step 4
Line a 20 cm square pan with parchment paper, tip in the mixture and use the bottom of a cup to press it down very firmly and evenly into all the corners. Pressing it tightly is the key to bars that don't fall apart when cut. The surface is ready when it is flat, about 1.5 cm thick and no longer gives under a finger press.
Step 5
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the pan for about two hours, then lift out the whole slab and cut it into sixteen bars with a sharp knife. Chilling sets the coconut oil and holds the slab together firmly. The bars are ready when they cut into neat rectangles with clean edges that don't crumble.
Equipment
- Food processor
- Square pan
- Parchment paper
- Spatula
- Refrigerator
- Kitchen scale
Tips
- Medjool dates are already soft and sweet, so they usually don't need soaking; if you use dry, hard dates, soak them a little longer.
- Add a spoonful of cocoa powder or a pinch of ground cinnamon to the food processor to change up the flavor.
- If the mixture is too dry and won't stick, add one or two more dates or a few drops of water and blend again.
Storage
Wrap each bar in parchment paper and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks. You can also freeze them for up to three months and let them sit out for about ten minutes before eating.
Common problems and how to fix them
- The bars crumble when cut.
- The mixture wasn't sticky enough or wasn't pressed firmly. Blend in more dates so it holds together better and press the mixture very firmly into the pan.
- The bars are too sticky and cling to the knife.
- The dates were still wet after soaking or the bars weren't chilled long enough. Pat the dates dry more thoroughly and leave the bars in the fridge for another hour before cutting.
This recipe is based on the common ratios for this bake and is written entirely in our own words.
