Apple Pie Date Bars

Ingredients

• 1 small apple ((cored, peeled and chopped // sweet or tart is fine))
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 13-14 whole dates ((pitted* // 13-14 dates yield ~2/3 cup packed))
• 1 cup raw or roasted almonds
• 1 cup raw or roasted walnuts

Steps

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C).

2. 2

   Place chopped apple on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil, maple syrup, cinnamon, and sea salt. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until soft and fragrant. Set aside.

3. 3

   In a food processor, grind nuts into a meal - a few chunkier pieces are OK. Then add dates and pulse until a loose dough is formed. Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl.

4. 4

   Give the baked apples another chop with a sharp knife so the pieces aren’t so large. Slowly add apples a few Tbsp at a time until the mixture forms a moist dough. If your mixture got too wet, simply add more ground walnuts, almonds, or even a handful oats. Reserve leftover apples for other use (oatmeal, smoothies, yogurt, etc.)

5. 5

   Transfer mixture to parchment-lined loaf pan and spread evenly with a spoon or spatula. Top with plastic wrap and use fingers to press it firmly into all corners until uniformly flat on top. For extra thickness, cram the mixture into 3/4 of the pan and reserve a blank space. This will make less bars, but they will be much thicker. Cover and freeze to set.

6. 6

   Chop into desired number of bars - anywhere from 4-8 (as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size).

7. 7

   To store, pack in a bag or container and place a piece of parchment between each bar so they don’t stick together. l keep mine in the freezer to stay fresher longer, but the refrigerator is fine, too.

8. 8

   If you’re traveling, they should be fine for a day or so. But keep them refrigerated or frozen otherwise.