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Yesterday I was all “Let’s Bake”! Today I am all “Let’s not, but act like we did!”.
Jeez, I am so up and down and all over the place these days. I think I just really like to keep things new and fresh around here.
Either that or those darn chickens are really starting to mess with my head. I’m sure you’ve all heard a story or two before about a crazy “cat lady”. Well, I am slightly concerned that I am turning into the crazy “chicken lady”.
I am actually really enjoying our little chickens. Taking care of them is kind of fun and I think it is so cool that we are going to get our own eggs from chickens raised right in our own backyard. It’s a good feeling for sure.
The other day I was so set on skipping a recipe post for just one day and telling you all about the chickens. For some reason I just really, really wanted to talk about them. Of course it was also an excuse to head outside (yeah!) and take an obnoxious amount of pictures. But then it started pouring and I “chickened” out and told myself, no one wants to hear about a bunch of chickens.
Thus, I presented to you these fajitas instead. Maybe one day, if it ever doesn’t rain in the afternoon, I will take some photos, but as of right now, Colorado seems to be calling for rain every afternoon. I am highly disliking it.
It’s such typical mountain weather. Sun in the morning and wicked storms in the afternoon. It actually got so dark the other day I couldn’t even finish taking photos because it went from day to-night in a matter of minutes. And then maybe thirty minutes later the clouds passed and it was sunny again.
Like full on sunshine – crazy, and a little annoying, oh well.
But it’s Friday and we have some cookie bars we need to talk about – and quick, because like I said, it’s Friday and I have a feeling our attention spans are shot from the week.
You may even be looking for a little booze to kick off your weekend, so lets just going already.
I am not sure if you remember, but last summer I posted this recipe for a healthier version of my mom’s oatmeal cookie bar recipe. It’s one of those recipes that I honestly make all the time, my mom makes all the time, and you guys tell me that you make all the time. It is just an awesome recipe.
I wanted to take those flavors and create and even easier, healthier, but just as delicious NO-BAKE oatmeal cookie bar. I wasn’t really sure I could do it. I mean, I’m certainly no “healthy baking” expert, but I used what I know and ingredients that I love and this is what I came up with.
Oh these bars. They taste so good. Just like my mom’s oatmeal cookie bars only a little chewier and a little less crumbly, but the flavor is spot on and the texture is awesome.
For sweetness I used dates. Just dates. Nothing else. Don’t be freaked. You’ll love these. Even if you don’t love dates. Promise.
I never knew what an amazing little ingredient dates were. For one they are incredibly healthy, full of fiber and super sweet. They work double time as the perfect binder and sweetener. The rest is pretty basic, roasted cashews are kind of my secret ingredient. They do have to be roasted though, so no swapping there. Their flavor is awesome and they grind up to a smooth paste perfectly.
Then of course there are oats… and quinoa for added health and texture, and plenty of dark chocolate. Plus sea salt because every cookie needs a little sea salt. It does. Really.
And the best part – these cookies require almost no time to make and they use simple ingredients that I really hope everyone has on hand.
Mega best part – these cookies taste like they should be a thousand and one calories, but they aren’t! They’re chuck full of good for you ingredients.
And they still taste like real oatmeal cookies!!!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
SO yes, I am so excited about these. Oatmeal Cookies + Chocolate Chunks and FRIDAY. What a great combo!
These look amazing but we are not cashew fans, do any other nuts work in their place? Thanks!!
Made them and loved them!
I just barely made these tonight! I stumbled across your blog for the first time yesterday and these bars intrigued me! I had to make them right away. They were honestly much better than I thought they’d be!! I mean, I knew they LOOKED super tasty, but I honestly have never used dates before so I was skeptical! But seriously, these are super amazing. I would have never thought to blend cashews and dates together (plus the coconut oil and milk) to get a “paste” that works great for holding the bars together. I applaud you. The only slight change I did was I used 3.5 oz of chopped up dark chocolate in the bars, then I melted 1/2 cup of milk chocolate chips to spread on top. Super yummy! Will make again!
So happy you loved these, THANKS!!
Fantastic recipe! These are so yummy. I don’t think I waited long enough for the mixture to cool though, a little too impatient, so the smaller chocolate pieces melted through. Definitely don’t look as pretty as yours but these will he a regular in our house now. Thank you!
So happy you love these. Thanks!
I don’t have quinoa here, what can I use? I’m really excited to try this out! And one more thing! How many calories is it in a bar?
i would try using equal amount oats. should work great! sorry, but i do not know how many calories. Hope you love these!
Okay. I just sat down and did the math. Whew! I used almond milk and ground almonds in my recipe. I also used two (2) Hershey’s Special Dark Mildly Sweet Sweet Chocolate Extra Large Bars, 4.25 oz each, 1.5 bars chopped up into chunks, the other half bar melted and drizzled over the top.
If you cut into 18 bars (which end up being pretty big!), as recommended, here is the nutritional info.
252 calories (252.26 to be exact)
14 g fat (14.12 g)
6 g saturated fat (6.27 g)
30 g carbohydrates (30.61 g)
4 g fiber (3.85 g)
15 g sugar (14.65 g)
5 g protein (4.99 g)
I tried these out the other day and I love the fact that they are GF. I had figs in the house so I used those instead of the dates and it reminded of fig newtons. they are great! I am going to make another batch for our church bake sale this weekend (Great American Bake Sale – supporting local food pantries) I am also going to try them with seeds instead of nut for a co-worker with allergies. Now that I have found you I will check your recipes out everyday! Thanks for helping me be healthier!
So excited you loved these and I love your fig swap!! 🙂
Thanks for the kind words. So excited to have you as a new reader!
I love that these amazing bars are so healthy!! 🙂 Yum!
What’s a good substitute for the coconut oil?
Love the use of dates!
Hey Sarah, I would use canola oil or melted butter. Hope you love these!
These are so dreamy!! Yay for no-bake recipes! Sometimes I just don’t have time for the oven 🙂
Thank you!
Have just put these in the fridge but not without a taste or two first! You did it again! First experience with Medjool dates and I am sold! (Made your pita sand Mediterranean Greek salad for the umpteenth time yesterday…more awesomeness!!!). THanks for all your work!
Hi there! I was thinking to make these but sub either a nut butter or another type of nut for the cashews (they hurt my tummy). If you were going to try using nut butter, how much would you sub for the cashews? These look really good, the quinoa is a unique addition that sounds good. I have some barley already cooked in the fridge that I was thinking about too (I’ve never been good at following recipes 😉 )
I think one cup of peanut butter or almond butter would work great. And also, I bet barley would too!
Thanks so much and I hope you love these! 🙂
Oh wow, these look amazing! Love that ingredient list. Go girl!
Thanks so much!
YUM! These look absolutely INSANE! Salt + dark chocolate is my absolute favourite!
Thanks!! 🙂
These are the perfect no-bake cookie bar, love the salted chocolate topping!
great healthy bars!
Thank you!