These Chocolate Date Bars are a dreamy combo of an oatmeal cookie base, a thick date “caramel” layer, and an indulgent almond butter fudge. The wholesome ingredients bake into a healthy snack resemblant of a homemade candy bar.
Contents
Date + Chocolate = Cookie Magic!
One of the most popular recipes for the past decade on Sunkissed Kitchen is my Oatmeal Date Walnut Bars. They are a wholesome combo of oatmeal, walnuts, and are entirely date sweetened.
They are popular because so many of us want wholesome treats – skip the white sugar, please! Dates are nature’s candy. While being high in natural sugars, they also contain a hefty dose of fiber, along with potassium, copper, B6 and magnesium (source).
In our current food landscape where we have an over abundance of calories and a deficiency of nutrients, I love finding ways to make real food FUN but retaining it’s nutrition.
Homemade treats like these Chocolate Date Bars are just that! Wholesome, whole food ingredients, combined into a delicious cookie bar, perfect for freezing, packing, and enjoying in a variety of settings.
The combo of chocolate + caramelly, chewy dates turns these into little candy bars! In my book, they are even better, because the absence of added sugar means the natural sweetness really shines through.
The base is a combo of rolled oats, almonds, and dates — pressed into a cookie layer. It’s topped with a silky date “caramel”, and then topped again with a luscious almond butter fudge!
Enjoy these gluten free treats as dessert when you have a sweet tooth, or as an energizing snack prior to a workout. Kids love these too!
What You’ll Need
Oatmeal Cookie Base
- Rolled Oats (I use these gluten free oats that are also glyphosate free)
- Medjool Dates (I provide the weight for the dates so any variety will work! Just buy organic dates.)
- Raw Almonds
- Unsweetened Coconut (optional – if you dislike coconut, add an additional 1/4 cup of oats and omit the coconut)
- Coconut Oil
- Egg
- Baking Soda
- Sea Salt
Date Caramel Layer
- Medjool Dates
- Lemon Juice
- Sea Salt
Almond Butter Fudge
- Dark Chocolate Chips (use sugar free chocolate chips to keep these bars free of refined sugar! Or use chopped dark chocolate bars.)
- Almond Butter
- Coconut Oil
- Optional: To really gives these a pop, top with a sprinkle of flaky salt.
- Note: If using semi sweet chocolate chips, add an additional 2 T of cocoa powder to give these a darker chocolate flavor – otherwise the flavor will be overpowered by the sweet dates!
How to Make Chocolate Date Bars
Step 1: In a food processor bowl, combine 1 cup of the oatmeal (reserve 1/2 cup of the oats for later), the almonds, the coconut, and the baking soda and sea salt. Process until a flour forms (it should be coarse, not completely smooth).
Step 2: Add the pitted dates, egg, and coconut oil to the food processor bowl, and pulse until the dates are mostly broken down.
Step 3: Add the reserved 1/2 cup of oats, and stir to mix in to the dough.
Step 4: Reserve 1/2 cup of the oatmeal mixture to use as a topping later. Line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper, and then press the rest of the oatmeal mixture into the pan. I like to use a little roller to pack it down tightly. Set the pan aside.
Step 6: Add the dates, lemon juice, and sea salt to the food processor bowl. Process the dates until a very smooth, caramelly mixture forms.
Step 5: Stop the food processor and scrape the sides a few times to make sure its evenly processing. If necessary, add 1-2 tablespoons of water to help the mixture smooth out. *If you’re using small dates or older, dried out dates, soak them in hot water for 1-2 minutes, drain them, and use the soaked dates to make the date caramel.
Step 7: Add chocolate chips, almond butter, and coconut oil to a double boiler. Heat the pan over medium heat.
Step 8: Stir once in a while to prevent burning, until the chocolate is fully melted, and remove from heat.
Step 9: Preheat the oven to 350º F. While the oven is preheating, add the date filling on top of the oatmeal crust. The date caramel is very sticky, so using wet hands or wetting a silicone spatula to spread the dates into an even layer is helpful. *It also helps to freeze the oatmeal layer for 1 hour prior to spreading the date caramel, if time allows.
Step 10: On top of the date layer, add the melted chocolate and smooth into an even layer.
Step 11: Crumble the reserved oatmeal mixture over the top of the chocolate layer.
Step 12: Bake the chocolate date bars for 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. For the easiest and cleanest cuts, cover the pan with plastic wrap and freeze the date bars for at least an hour prior to slicing.
How to Store Leftover Chocolate Date Bars
These are a great high-energy snack to have on hand in the freezer!
Once the date bars have fully cooled, cover the pan with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1 hour. Pop the date bars out of the pan by pulling on the parchment paper. Cut the date bars into 16 squares.
Add the cut date bars to an airtight container, and freeze up to 6 months. Enjoy right out of the freezer! Eating these frozen makes the date layer extra chewy, and more like caramel.
Tips & Variations
Other Nut or Seed Butters: These can be made nut free by swapping the almonds and almond butter for sunflower seeds and sunflower seed butter! You can also use a combination of sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds and sunflower seeds to give it a boost of nutrition.
Any natural nut butter will work in the place of the almond butter – creamy peanut butter, cashew butter, or even hazelnut butter!
Coconut Free: If you don’t enjoy coconut, omit it, and add an additional 1/4 cup of oats to the base.
Notes on Chocolate: The chocolate really. needs to be a dark chocolate, 70% or darker, to stand out flavor wise on these bars. If you only have semi sweet chocolate chips, add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to your melted dark chocolate to give it an extra chocolaty pop.
Add Crunchy Nuts: If you love the crunchy texture of nuts with the chewy texture of sweet medjool dates, add an additional 1/4 cup of chopped almonds to the top when you add the oatmeal mixture topping.
Other Date Sweetened Desserts to Try!
- Gluten Free Double Chocolate Muffins
- Gluten Free Sticky Date Pudding (entirely date sweetened!)
- Chocolate Quinoa Cake
Chocolate Date Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
Oatmeal Cookie Layer
- 1 1/2 cups oats gluten free, if necessary
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
- 4 ounces Medjool dates (about 10 dates, pitted)
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
Date Layer
- 12 ounces Medjool dates (about 30 dates, pitted)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Almond Butter Fudge
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips or melted dark chocolate bar
- 1/3 cup almond butter unsweetened
Instructions
- In a food processor bowl, combine 1 cup of the oatmeal (reserve 1/2 cup of the oats for later), the almonds, the coconut, and the baking soda and sea salt. Process until a flour forms (it should be coarse, not completely smooth).
- Add the pitted dates, egg, and coconut oil to the food processor bowl, and pulse until the dates are mostly broken down.
- Add the reserved 1/2 cup of oats, and stir to mix in to the dough.
- Reserve 1/2 cup of the oatmeal mixture to use as a topping later. Line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper, and then press the rest of the oatmeal mixture into the pan. I like to use a little roller to pack it down tightly. Set the pan aside.
- Add the dates, lemon juice, and sea salt to the food processor bowl. Process the dates until a very smooth, caramelly mixture forms.
- Stop the food processor and scrape the sides a few times to make sure its evenly processing. If necessary, add 1-2 tablespoons of water to help the mixture smooth out. *If you’re using small dates or older, dried out dates, soak them in hot water for 1-2 minutes, drain them, and use the soaked dates to make the date caramel.
- Add chocolate chips, almond butter, and coconut oil to a double boiler. Heat the pan over medium heat.
- Stir once in a while to prevent burning, until the chocolate is fully melted, and remove from heat.
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. While the oven is preheating, add the date layer on top of the oatmeal crust. The date caramel is very sticky, so using wet hands or wetting a silicone spatula to spread the dates into an even layer is helpful. *It also helps to freeze the oatmeal layer for 1 hour prior to spreading the date caramel, if time allows.
- On top of the date layer, add the almond butter fudge and smooth into an even layer.
- Crumble the reserved oatmeal mixture over the top of the chocolate layer.
- Bake the chocolate date bars for 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. For the easiest and cleanest cuts, cover the pan with plastic wrap and freeze the date bars for at least an hour prior to slicing.
The best combo!