Samah Dada
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Date Crumble Bars
DATE. CRUMBLE. BARS. Do I need to say more? I don’t. But it’s me. So I will. And before I start talking about these date crumble bars, I’ll just say this.
I have so many cringeworthy jokes like, “This is the perfect date” or “have you ever had such a good first date” or “this was the best date of my life!” and though they may make you wince from pain at how not funny they are, they all apply here.
You already know I love dates. Well, maybe love isn’t even the right word, but I digress. I made these Date Crumble Bars with one thing top of mind – my desire to make a sweet and luscious date filling. I had tons of dates I had bought and wanted to use them to make something that was decadent, but still light enough to eat with breakfast or as a morning pastry with coffee. And thus, these crumble bars were born. This recipe is also vegan, gluten-free, and uses no refined sugar. We love that about them!
In developing this recipe I became obsessed with the idea of taking a cross between a fig (well here, date) and an apple crumble and seeing what could become of the two. To make the crust, I use a blend of almond flour and oat flour. As for the filling – also known as the object of my affection and desire. I added absolutely no sugar to this, and it comes together with just medjool dates (the GOAT), a little almond milk, and vanilla extract. It could not be easier than that, and I will warn you that you will truly want to eat it straight up.
ingredients//
Crust
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour, packed
- 1/2 cup rolled oats, ground into a flour (grind your oats in a blender until mostly pulverized and a flour texture is achieved. Grind oats after measuring).
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk sub another non-dairy milk
- 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flax + 5 tbsp water, let sit aside for 5 minutes to thicken before adding into recipe)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- dash cinnamon
Date filling
- 14 large medjool dates
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Oat topping
- 2 tbsp rolled oats
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- dash cinnamon
- sprinkle unsweetened coconut chips (optional)
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper.
- Prepare your two flax eggs by combining 2 tbsp of ground flaxseed with 5 tbsp warm water. Let it sit aside to thicken up.
- Measure out 1/2 cups of rolled oats, and process them in your blender until a fine powder is achieved. It doesn't have to be crazy pulverized, as we like to have some oaty texture.
- We are going to make the crust in one bowl! In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, homeground oat flour, cinnamon, coconut sugar, and a pinch of salt until combined.
- Now add your melted and cooled coconut oil into the flour mixture. Mix until it's thoroughly incorporated.
- Now add your flax egg into the mixture, followed by the almond milk. Stir to combine everything. You should have a thick, sticky dough. Set aside and prepare the filling. You can also refrigerate the dough overnight and make the next day.
- In a high-speed blender, combine your dates, almond milk, and vanilla extract. Blend on high until smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender if necessary. Place the filling aside.
- Press about two-thirds of the crust dough into your prepared pan making sure that it is evenly distributed throughout the pan. Reserve the rest of the crust.
- Now, pour the date filling over the crust, ensuring it is evenly distributed.
- Crumble the remaining crust dough over the top of the filling, pressing the pieces slightly onto the tops of the filling.
- Combine the rolled oats, coconut sugar, cinnamon, and optional coconut chips in a smal bowl and sprinkle it on top of the bars.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes until the tops of the crust are golden, the date filling is bubbling, and the sides of the crust look golden brown.
- Let cool before slicing and serving.
