Simple Little Moments

These homemade date bars are so addicting, but with the guilt-free pleasures of being a healthy alternative to store bought granola bars. These taste JUST like Larabars! These are diabetic-friendly, gluten-free & vegan (just make sure you choose GF & vegan chocolate chips). I used Kirkland Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips for this reason.

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When I was growing up, my mom did a lot of baking but we were still a classic 90’s household: lots of convenience foods and packaged snacks. Since becoming a mom myself, I’ve really tried to prioritize making delicious snacks from scratch. I have a sweet tooth, but also want to eat healthy! I also want my children to grow up understanding the importance of making your own food from scratch. And even more importantly, how most of the time when we make something homemade, it ends up tasting even better than the store bought version!

That’s where these date bars come in.

A while back, I shared my 3-ingredient date cookie recipe and it ended up getting a lot of positive responses and feedback. I knew I wanted to share this recipe as soon as I perfected it. These date bars are a great midday snack at home or for your kids to take to school, or you could even crumble one of the bars up into your yogurt parfait (that’s my fav!).

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! These only lasted a few days in my house since everyone gobbled them up.

Six Ingredient Date Bars

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups of rolled oats
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter (use a fresh jar if possible)
• 1 ½ cups of pitted dates
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (choose vegan option if desired)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Sea salt to taste

Directions

1. Set the oven to 350 and line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper.
2. Place dates into a small pot of boiling water and let simmer for 10 minutes to soften them up.
3. Add the rolled oats to a blender and blend until the oats turn into a flour.
4. Using a sharp knife and cutting board, chop up your chocolate chips.
5. In a medium bowl, put your blended oats, peanut butter, vanilla and chopped chocolate chips in and mix.
6. Once your dates are softened, place in blender and add 1/2 cup of water. Blend until the dates turn into a thick paste.
7. Add date mixture to your bowl with the rest of your ingredients. Stir until mixed.
8. Pour ingredients into your parchment lined pan, and sprinkle with sea salt if desired. (This made them extra yummy so I’d recommend not skipping!)
9. Bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating the pan half way through. Depending on the age of your oven, you may need to cook longer. Mine was 15 minutes.

Once cooled, remove from the pan and cut into granola bar-sized slices. I’ve found that storing these in the fridge or freezer are better to maintain consistency and shape!

I’d love to know if you tried this recipe and if you were as addicted to them as I currently am! Seriously, whenever I make these date bars I end up eating like 4 of them right away.

Thanks for reading!