Peanut & Date Harmony Bars
This recipe came from a desire to create a quick to prepare, healthy treat that fit that sweet-tooth desire. With a dense, chewy, crunchy, texture and with its peanutty, date, delicate chocolate deliciousness, it is a satisfying and palate pleasing harmonious combination of healthy goodness! It ended up being vegan, gluten free, dairy free and without added sugars! It can be made in a 8.5” or 9” spring-form pan or a pie plate to serve in small slices as a tart – served with coconut whipped cream or drizzled with coconut milk and fresh raspberries, or with tahini caramel sauce and raspberries (oh my!) or any combination of these and any berries or no berries at all - makes it a company worthy dessert.
Prep time: 15 Minutes / Bake Time: 15 Minutes / Freezer Time: 30 minutes / Number of Servings: 20 smaller squares, 8-10 generous rectangle bars or 12 tart slices
Ingredients:
Base
1¼ cup – peanuts (salted or unsalted – your choice)
½ cup soft pitted dates
¼ cup rolled oats or oat flour
¼ cup hemp hearts
1 Tbsp sesame seeds (optional)
Pinch of salt
1-2 Tbsp of nut milk (or water or a mild herbal tea) – to bind if mixture is too granular
Top
1 cup soft pitted dates
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp coconut flour (or oat flour or almond flour)
Pinch of salt
4 Tbsp peanut butter
2 Tbsp coconut oil – softened or melted
1 Tbsp nut milk
¼ cup Cacao Nibs – soaked to soften (optional) (or dark chocolate chopped fine)
¼ cup chopped peanuts – to sprinkle on top
How it’s Made
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Prep an 8” square baking pan by lining it with parchment paper which hangs over the sides to use as handles to lift it out of the pan to cut. I find I didn’t need to grease the paper, but do so if you wish.
Base
Add all the ingredients to a food process (not the nut milk – yet) and blend until it has a crumbly texture. It should stick together well if you pinch some off and squeeze it together with your fingers or in your palm. If not, or if you are unsure, with the machine running, drizzle in the nut milk, starting with 1 Tbsp until it holds together. It is a forgiving base so even if it’s a bit wet, that’s ok too as it will dry out when baking.
Press the base mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for about 15 minutes until the edges are light brown. If it’s not done yet, bake it a little longer, checking every 2 minutes until done.
Remove the crust from the oven. Let it cool for 15 minutes.
Top
Combine the dates, cocoa powder, cinnamon, coconut flour and salt in the food processor and pulse to break down the dates about 10 seconds.
Add the peanut butter, softened or melted coconut oil, nut milk and softened cacao nibs if using.
Spread the filling on top of the base, spreading it evenly to the edges.
Sprinkle with the chopped peanuts, gently pressing them into the filling so they hold.
Place the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes.
When you are ready to cut them, remove from the freezer and let the pan sit on the counter for 10-15 minutes to make cutting easier. Remove the squares, using the overhanging parchment paper, to a cutting board. Cut as you desire – either in squares or in bars.
Store the squares/bars in the fridge in an airtight container. These freeze well – stored in an airtight container.
Enjoy!
Tip
To soften dates – cover them in hot water and let soak for 10-15 minutes, then drain them. Or put them in a glass container with water to cover and microwave for 30 seconds, then drain. Or heat the dates covered in water in a small saucepan on the stove top for 1 minute when it comes to a gentle boil, let cool, then drain.
To soften cacao nibs, put them in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Let sit for 10 minutes, then drain.
To add an additional flavour, in the base, reduce the peanuts to 1 cup and add ¼ cup hazelnuts, pecans, almonds, cashews – your choice.
In the base, you can use pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds in addition to or in place of the sesame seeds – just process a little longer to make sure they are ground in tiny pieces and incorporated into the mixture well.
In the topping, you can use another nut butter – if you do, reduce the peanuts to ¾ cup and add a ½ cup of those nuts to the base to have more of the nut butter flavour you have chosen in the base.
Instead of cacao nibs, dark chocolate cut into small pieces can be used but note that this would increase the sugar content slightly.