INGREDIENTS
- 2-3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 1/4 cups dates
- 1 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup apple sauce
- ½ cup almonds or almond butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup granola
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Coat an 8×8 baking dish with coconut oil.
- Place all the pitted dates into a Vitamix and just barely cover them with hot to boiling water. Allow them to soak for 10-15 minutes.
- In a medium bowl mix together 1 1/4 cups of oats, coconut, sea salt, flaxseed, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
- Once the dates are soft, add almonds (skip if using almond butter), apple sauce, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of oats. Blend till smooth.
- Add date mixture to dry ingredients along with vanilla extract (and almond butter if you didn’t dry almonds to Vitamix). Mix well until a uniform dough forms.
- Press the dough into the prepared pan until level.
- Spread granola evenly across the top and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden brown.
- Remove from oven and let the bars cool on a wired rack. Once cool cut into bars and enjoy!
NOTES
- Adapted from https://theconscientiouseater.com/chewy-almond-butter-date-granola-bars/#recipe
- Use either almonds or almond butter, not both!