date bars

date bars
7 February 2017 Katie

A real treat with a rich date filling, sandwiched between crunchy crumble layers.  They contain half the added sugar of a traditional recipe, and not a processed ingredient in sight.  They may look complicated, but they only take 15-20 minutes to prepare, and you get a little r&r time whilst you are waiting for the date filling to cool.  Definitely worth the wait!  Great for dessert with some sliced fruit on the side; in lunch boxes and picnics.

Best eaten on the day of baking, as they will be delightfully crunchy.  The bars will keep for 3 days in an airtight container,  or can be frozen, and defrosted when needed.  Bars that are kept will be a little softer, but just as delicious.

A note on sugar.  I do try not to use processed sugar except where a recipe really won’t work without it, and then I keep it to an absolute minimum.  Each portion contains 13g of sugar, but only 5g (1 teaspoon) of this is added sugar, the remainder is natural sugar from the dates.  The total sugar still needs to be considered, especially for diabetics.  The 5g of added sugar counts as a third of a 4-8 year-old child’s  maximum, and a fifth of a woman’s maximum recommended amount.  On the upside, each portion contains 8% of your daily fibre intake.


date bars

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Prep Time20minutes
Cook Time40minutes

date bars

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Prep Time20minutes
Cook Time40minutes

Ingredients

Quantity of servings: slices


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Ingredients

Quantity of servings: slices


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Instructions
  1. Begin by lining a 20 x 20cm square tin with grease proof paper.
  2. Place the dates and water to a saucepan, heat to a gentle simmer and crush and stir for up to 10 minutes until smooth. Remove from the heat and leave to cool to room temperature. Whilst this is cooking, you can make the crumble layers. The date mixture will take 30-40 minutes to cool down.
  3. In a food processor, tip in the flour, oats and then add the coconut oil in small blobs about the size of a cherry. Pulse until loose breadcrumbs form, then add in the salt and sugar and pulse again to combine.
  4. [If you don't have a food processor, you can rub the flour and coconut oil together to form breadcrumbs, then add the oats, sugar and salt.]
  5. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/GM4.. Tip half the crumble mixture into the tin, and press down gently with the back of a spoon to make an even bottom layer.
  6. Add spoonfuls of the date mixture evenly on top, and gently spread them to form the date layer in the middle.
  7. With the remaining crumble topping, drizzle the 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil randomly, then mix loosely to create clumps - don't mix too much or you will lose the 'crumble' look. Place in spoonfuls on top of the date layer and spread around to cover.
  8. Place in the oven for approximately 40 minutes until golden brown around the edges. Remove from the oven, and cool in the tin. When completely cold, cut into 16 portions.

Nutrition Facts
date bars
Amount Per Serving
Calories 172
Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 7g
11%
Saturated Fat 5g
25%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.4g
Monounsaturated Fat 1g
Sodium 6mg
0%
Potassium 81mg
2%
Total Carbohydrates 27g
9%
Dietary Fiber 2g
8%
Sugars 13g
Protein 2g
4%
Calcium
1%
Iron
4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.