Chocolate Chip Date Cookie Bars

A little dark chocolate, a little course sea salt, and all the sweet and salty goodness one could ask for in a little dessert. These cookie bars have been experimented on more than a few times now and I am finally posting the best recipe version I came up with. Just in time for Super Bowl Sunday tomorrow, of course ;) 

 

The delectable dates offer once again some moisture, some texture and most of all a rich caramel-like flavor that stays with you. And a little square is all you might need to satisfy that after dinner craving for a little sweet and salty. Some say you don't need dessert while trying to live a healthy life. Obviously I beg to differ with the need to have balance and a healthy relationship with such good ingredients like dark chocolate and dates. You can have an opinion of your own of course ;) But I would maybe wait until you give this one a try...haha :)

This recipe is super easy too. Just whip up the batter and then pour in your parchment 9x13, bake, wait and enjoy. I am almost sure you could roll out eat cookie from the dough as well, but when you can spread it out and cut into each chewy bite like this, I would say make it easy on yourself, friend... Seriously. Why take on any extra stress these days, amiright?!? I hope you give it a whirl and ENJOY!

Chocolate Chip Date Cookie Bars Recipe
{gluten, dairy, egg, soy, nut, and seed free}

3/4 cup of rice or millet flour
3/4 cup of GF certified oat or buckwheat flour (I grind my own out of whole groats)
1/2 cup of tapioca flour
1/3 cup of potato starch flour
2 TB of coconut flour
3/4 cup of coconut palm sugar
1 ts. of baking powder
1 ts. of baking soda
1 ts. of sea salt
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1/2 cup of coconut oil (or sub avocado oil here or half of each)
1/2 cup of date puree (or sub 1/4 cup for applesauce)
1/2-3/4 cup of dairy-free chocolate chips

Mix all the dry ingredients together first in a large mixing bowl, then add in the oil and blend it well and then mix in the wet date paste and syrup and it becomes a carmel-ly color and that is when you can fold in the chocolate chips. I usually add 1/2 cup chips to the batter and sprinkle a few more on top after it is spread out in the pan. You can cut and place a piece of parchment in a 9x13 pan and then pour in the batter and spread even. It is like a brownie/blondie batter and use a spatula to evenly smooth through the pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25  minutes and then sprinkle very course sea salt on top for a finishing touch. If you are not a fan of that flavor with dark chocolate then I would omit. Let cool for 3-4 hours before you cut into! This is very important to avoid crumbling and a messy finish. I know it will be hard to do this (yep, I cheated here ;) But it will bring out a better final product to serve in the end. 

I love how easy these are to mix up and serve. You can lift out the parchment after fully cooled and use a chef knife and cut into even squares. I get 24 bars out of the pan usually. 

Serve and ENJOY!

Lots of love and light to you....xoxo