Mar 02

5 Ingredient No Bake Vegan Date Squares!

Posted by Katie on Mar 02 2012 at 06:06 am

I have SO many recipes to share with you but last night, while watching a PVR’d episode of Parenthood and enjoying a fabulous bowl of whole wheat spaghetti and turkey meatballs I was overwhelmed with a desire for dessert.

The old Katie would have ignored that desire and gone all night DYING for a piece of chocolate or something of the like.

The new Katie listens to her body and when it wants something sweet, it gets something sweet…Within reason of course… If I am craving a Reese’s Peanut Butter cup Blizzard from Dairy Queen, I don’t go out and get one ;)  If I did, I’d have to buy shares of the company :lol:

ANYWAY!

As you know, last weekend my girlfriend Janet and I enjoyed a movie/appetizer night and the days leading up to that night were spent trying to figure out what to make!

I knew I wanted to make something sweet in addition to my asian lettuce wraps and sushi…But what?

What I did next was what I always do when I need a “sure thing, no fail” type recipe.

I visited Angela at Oh She Glows.

If you’ve never visited Angela’s blog, BOOKMARK IT TODAY!  She has changed my life in such a profound way, I cannot begin to tell you.

ANYWAY this is a recipe I’ve had my eye on for MONTHS and was finally faced with an opportunity to make it.

And I did.

And it was awesome.

Enter the 5 ingredient, no bake, vegan date square.

These date squares have absolutely NO ADDED SUGAR (Just what’s in the dates naturally!) YET they are beautifully sweet and perfectly crunchy and chewy!  IF I had to do anything differently (don’t get me wrong, this recipe is PERFECT the way it is) I would add cinnamon to the crust/topping mixture, just because I am a cinnamon FIEND.

Miss Janet and I both immensely enjoyed just one slice and as such I was left with almost an entire container in my freezer!

SO as I was craving dessert last night, I nibbled on one of these and while in nirvana I just KNEW I had to pass this recipe on. MAKE THIS IMMEDIATELY!

Enjoy!!

OH MY GODDESS LOOK AT THAT CRUST!! You should know that as I type up this recipe and watch The X-Files with my hubster, I am indeed enjoying one of these babies...You know...Research ;)

5 Ingredient No Bake Date Squares!
Print
Recipe type: Dessert
Author: Katie
Prep time: 30 mins
Total time: 30 mins
Serves: 12-16 depending on how big or small you cut the squares!
Courtesy of Angela at Oh She Glows! The only thing I did differently is I didn’t add the salt that was requested in her recipe. I tend to leave that out for most baking.
Ingredients
  • Crust:
  • 1 1/2 cups whole raw almonds
  • 1 1/2 cups regular oats
  • 10 Medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
  • Date filling:
  • 25 Medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup water
Instructions
  1. Line a 8×8 square baking pan with two pieces of wax paper going opposite ways (for easy removal of the cake!)
  2. In a food processor, process the almonds and oats until fine and crumbly.
  3. Add dates to almond/oat mixture and process until crumbly again.
  4. Melt the coconut oil.
  5. Add coconut oil to the almond/oat/date crumbly mixture and process until sticky.
  6. Set aside 3/4 cup of the mixture for later (topping!!)
  7. Press the remaining mixture evenly into the pan.
  8. Add pitted and roughly chopped dates and water to your food processor and process until a paste forms(stopping to scrape the sides as needed)
  9. Scoop out date paste mixture onto the crust and gently spread with the back of a wet spoon or spatula.
  10. Sprinkle on the 3/4 cup of mixture you set aside and gently press down with fingers. Refrigerate or freeze for 2-3 hours.
  11. Using the wax paper, gently pull cake out of the pan and set onto a flat surface.
  12. Cut into squares and serve.

First Step:

Line a  8×8 square baking pan with two pieces of wax paper going opposite ways (for easy removal of the cake!)
Second Step:
In a food processor, process the almonds and oats until fine and crumbly.  It will look like THIS:
Third Step:
Add dates to almond/oat mixture and process until crumbly again.
Fourth Step:
Melt the coconut oil (if you live somewhere cool like me!  If you live somewhere hot, chances are your coconut oil is already melted!)
Fifth Step:
Add coconut oil to the almond/oat/date crumbly mixture and process until sticky.
Sixth Step:
Set aside 3/4 cup of the mixture for later (the crust is the same as the topping!!)
Seventh Step:
Press the remaining mixture evenly into the pan.
Eighth Step:
Add pitted and roughly chopped dates and water to your food processor and process until a paste forms(stopping to scrape the sides as needed)
Nineth Step:
Scoop out date paste mixture onto the crust and gently spread with the back of a wet spoon or spatula.
Tenth Step:
Sprinkle on the 3/4 cup of mixture you set aside and gently press down with fingers. Refrigerate or freeze for 2-3 hours.
Eleventh Step:
Using the wax paper, gently pull cake out of the pan and set onto a flat surface.
Cut into squares and serve.
These are THE BEST frozen!!!
Happy Friday my dear readers.  Make it a great one!

Tags: , , ,

16 responses so far Baking

16 Responses to “5 Ingredient No Bake Vegan Date Squares!”

  1. Karen says:
    March 2, 2012 at 7:09 am

    Those look absolutely amazing!!! I must make these soon!! We had spaghetti and meatballs last night too : )

    Reply
  2. lucie says:
    March 2, 2012 at 7:35 am

    These look like something youd find at a little vintage deli/cafe – yummiest thing ever! I neeeeeeeeeeeeed some snacks like this in my life Katie! x

    Reply
  3. Hilary says:
    March 2, 2012 at 10:18 am

    Blogging synergy strikes again! I also posted a recipe today that uses dates and oats…go figure! Your recipe looks quite yummy though too! ;) Happy Friday and first non-RRSP season weekend in a while. :)

    Reply
  4. Annette@EnjoyYourHealthyLife says:
    March 2, 2012 at 11:18 am

    Those look deeeeeeeelicious!! And easy. I like, no LOVE, easy. :) Have a lovely Friday!

    Reply
  5. Shannon ~ My Place In The Race says:
    March 2, 2012 at 2:22 pm

    I lOOOOVE her site! And these look soooo good! Mmmm…feel free to send some my way! :D

    Reply
    • Katie says:
      March 4, 2012 at 7:25 pm

      I love her! She is a dream come true that one!

      I would love to send you some! I wonder how long they would take to get to you…If they would maintain freshness and whatnot ;)

      Reply
  6. Sammy says:
    March 2, 2012 at 3:49 pm

    I love oh she glows and often get inspiration from there too! But haven’t made these they look delish – will def have a go! We r lucky in Australia that mangoes are abundant in summer – it would have to be my fams fav fruit – when the boys were babies they could suck on a pip for hours. Have a great week xxxx

    Reply
    • Katie says:
      March 4, 2012 at 7:26 pm

      You know I never thought about that but mango pits would be awesome for kids…They are big and as such, not a choking hazard really…

      I will have to remember that for when I have little ones!

      Reply
  7. Natalie says:
    March 15, 2012 at 10:59 am

    How did I miss these?!? I’m making them stat. I think I’ll use dried figs because I have an obsession with those right now :)

    Reply
  8. Heather says:
    March 22, 2012 at 1:53 pm

    So excited about these! Just tripped over your blog and Oh She Glows. I am right now snacking on dates – my favourite thing ever!! We will be trying this recipe after our next grocery shopping excursion :)

    Reply
    • Katie says:
      March 23, 2012 at 6:45 am

      Hey Heather! Glad you stumbled on me! You are going to LOVE these! Anything Angela does is just pure gold…If I could give you any advice it would be to try almost every one of her recipes ;)

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Rate this recipe: