Chocolate Chip Date Granola Cookie Bars

I made these bars yesterday for Joe to take to a youth event at a friend's house. Since there are now a few kids in the group who are also gluten free and others who are healthy eaters, I wanted to make something safe for the gf'ers and enjoyable for everyone else. The cookies turned out soft and chewy and seemed to be a hit.

My oatmeal date cookie recipe is fast and easy and very flexible. Omitting the sugar altogether and letting the dates and chocolate chips sweeten the batter worked well. Adding an extra egg, the extra almond butter and pecans upped the protein. 

Since yesterday was a busy morning I didn't have time or inclination to scoop dozens of cookies out and bake several sheets.  Instead I covered a large baking sheet with parchment, dumped the cookie dough on to it and used clean, wet hands to smooth the dough into one large rectangle about a half inch thick. They baked up beautifully and I was able to cut nearly sixty small bars with a pizza cutter in no time.

Breanna, this recipe is for you! 

For some reason Blogger has "bolded" the rest of this post. I guess I won't have to wear my reading glasses when I refer back to it! ;-)

Chocolate Chip Date Granola Cookie Bars
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cover one large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the following a large mixing bowl:

12 Organic Medjool Dates, chopped

1 1/2 cups Natural Almond Butter

4 large Eggs

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

I used my Kitchen Aid and let it mix on medium a couple of minutes until the dates were breaking down and the batter looked creamy but with a few flecks of dates.

Then add:

4 cups GF Rolled Oats

1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt

1 cup raw Pecan pieces

1 cup mini chocolate chips - I used Enjoy Life 


Mix everything together until well mixed. Your dough will be stiff and heavy.

Dump out the dough onto your baking sheet and, using clean, wet hands smooth the dough out into one large rectangle about one half inch thick.

Bake approximately 15 minutes and let cool a few minutes before cutting.  I used a pizza wheel to make cutting fast and easy. My bars were approximately one inch by two inches and I was able to get nearly 60.  

Allow to cool completely before removing from pan.

They made a yummy breakfast today, too!

Enjoy!