Date and nut bars
Ingredients:
1. 3 cups of a variety of unsalted nuts
2. 24 medium sized medjool dates with the pits/seeds removed
*If the dates are hard or older, soak them in warm water until they soften and then remove the pits/seeds
3. 1-2 Tbsp of date water if the dates were soaked
4. 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips
5. 1 teaspoon of unsalted butter
Directions:
1. Add the dates to a food processor and grind until a paste forms.
2. Add the nuts to the food processor and grind with the dates.
*It may be easier to grind the nuts first and remove from the food processor. Then add the dates to the food processor to grind. Once the dates form a paste, add the ground nuts and process the date paste and ground nuts together.
3. Line a baking pan with wax paper or parchment paper.
4. Spray the wax or parchment paper with cooking spray.
5. Spread the date nut paste with a spatula into a thin layer on the baking pan. If the paste is not spreading, spray the spatula as needed with cooking spray.
6. Combine the chocolate chips and the butter in a bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Remove from the microwave and stir. Microwave again for 30 seconds and then stir. Most of the chocolate chips should be melted. If not, you may need to microwave an additional 10-30 seconds.
7. Spread a thin layer of the chocolate over the date nut paste.
8. Put the baking pan in the refrigerator or freezer for at least an hour. If date water was needed when making the paste, the bars will hold together better if in the freezer instead of the refrigerator.
9. Take the pan out, and cut the bars into pieces using a pizza cutter or knife and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The bars should last for at least a week.
