These crowd pleasers won’t take a bite out of your day with prep time.
Until I moved to Arizona, I had never met such a large concentration of people who didn’t care for chocolate–which posed a real challenge for when I needed to fix treats or desserts for my students. And then I remembered how my mom used to make date bars when we were kids. I threw together a batch one night when my husband invited two teenage boys over for supper and I didn’t have any dessert on hand. Both boys loved the results, and I hope you will, too.
A great #dessert for those who don't like chocolate--#date bars! Click To TweetThis recipe is easy enough for kids to make with minimal adult supervision–and they’ll love the date bars when they’re finished!
Preheat the oven to 325˚
Grease a large (9X13X2) baking dish
Add these ingredients to a medium glass bowl:
1/4 c applesauce
1/2 c butter
1 1/2 cups date turds (ok, that’s what my kids call them–they are the chopped dates that have been coated in flour so that they don’t stick to each other)
1/4 c water
Microwave 45 seconds and then stir and microwave another 30-35 seconds–until butter melts–and stir well.
Add 1 1/4 c brown sugar and stir again and let it cool a little while you chop the nuts.
When the date/sugar mixture has cooled enough to touch, add:
3/4 tsp salt
1 Tbs vanilla
1 Tbs baking powder
2 eggs
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 c coconut sweetened coconut flakes
1 c chopped pecans or walnuts
Mix all of the ingredients together (the batter will be about half way between cookie dough consistency and cake mix consistency) and then spread evenly in the greased baking dish.
Bake at 325 for 35-45 minutes (time will vary depending on your baking dishes and your oven) until the edges pull away from the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool a little before cutting them into squares. Store the leftovers (if you’re lucky enough to have any) in an airtight container.
Find more kid-friendly activities and recipes over at Generation iKid!
