These are like a healthier, chewy oatmeal raisin cookie. I’d like to say I prepped a bunch to eat throughout the week as a grab-and-go post-workout snack but the first time I made them … Joe and I ate the entire batch in an evening. They’re that tasty.
These are vegan and if you use gluten-free oats, also gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- ¼ cup almond butter*
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup raisins, separated in half
- 10 pitted dates**
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of sea salt
- ¼ cup crushed dry roasted almonds (optional)***
Instructions
- Put the oats in a food processor and combine for about 15 seconds until a rough flour consistency.
- Add in the dates, 1/4 cup raisins, almond butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla and pinch of sea salt. Run the processor until fully combined into a big ball of dough (in my processor this took about 1 minute.
- Remove your dough and knead the remaining 1/4 cup of raisins into it.
- Press dough evenly into a small baking pan lined with parchment paper (mine is 6" x 6").
- OPTIONAL: Press crushed almonds on top firmly so that they sink into the mixture.
- Cover pan and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove and use a knife to cut the mixture into bars. Separate and enjoy!
Notes
*I recommend using runny almond butter so that the texture isn't too dry. **Dates should be sticky and mooshy. If they're dry, soak in water until soft. ***These are delicious with or without the almonds on top. It was an awesome added crunch when I used them, but I think the bars are equally yummy without the almonds. STORING: I like to store these in the refrigerator in a tupperware container with small pieces of parchment paper in between the bars so that they don't stick together.
Don’t be afraid to customize these! You could swap the maple syrup for honey; add in some hemp seeds for a nutritional boost; replace 1/4 cup of the oats with an equal amount of protein powder–have fun with it! 
I might have overdone the whole artistically-toss-spare-ingredients-around-the-photoshoot thing with this one … 😉 
Hey there! I'm Nicole, a group fitness instructor, healthy lifestyle blogger (you probably figured that one out by now) and Certified Personal Trainer living in Boston, MA.
These look soo yum! I love making bars like this at home so you have 100% confidence about what’s in them! Thanks for sharing!
I love quick and easy recipes. I just discovered I could throw a whole spaghetti squash in the microwave for 11 minutes and have it be soft and cooked and done. CHANGED MY LIFE.