Helloooo new favorite sweet treat.
This treat is good for the soul and the body.
We’re talking rolled oats, naturally sweet dates, nutritious hemp hearts, creamy tahini, pure maple syrup, vanilla extract, fragrant ground cinnamon, pink sea salt, anddd semi sweet (or dark) chocolate chips!
Mmmm mmm.
No animal products, no gluten, no refined sugars.
Like dang, does it get much better than this??
These bars serve as a perfect on-the-go breakfast paired with a banana, an energy-boosting mid-hike snack, or a satisfying after-dinner sweet. (Whew so many hyphens.)
We always love versatility.
Oh and they’re cookie-loving, non-vegan father approved.
Just sayin’.
P.S. Costco or Grocery Outlet are great places to purchase hemp hearts. Otherwise, they can be a leetle pricey.
P.P.S. Make sure you utilize a tahini that actually tastes halfway decent. Some are super duper bitter. No thank you!
P.P.P.S. Thank you Running on Real Food for the recipe inspo! Deryn used unsweetened shredded coconut flakes in her bars, which I didn’t have on hand, so I decided to make this a chocolatey affair and add a few healthy dashes of cinnamon plus a good glug of vanilla.
Chocolate Chip Tahini Power Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 lightly packed cup soft dates (I used deglet noor), pits removed
- 1 cup hemp hearts
- 1/2 cup tahini (no added ingredients)
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon pink sea salt
- 1/4 cup semi sweet or dark chocolate chips (dairy-free)
Instructions
- Heat over to 350. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper—let the paper extend over the pan edges so you can easily lift the bars out after baking.
- In a food processor, pulse the oats until a rough oat flour is formed.
- Add all of the other ingredients to the food processor (besides the chocolate chips). Pulse, then blend until the mixture comes together, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl when necessary. Some small date chunks are fine.
- Press the mixture into your parchment-lined pan, then sprinkle of chocolate chips, lightly pressing the chips into the bars.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then let the bars cool in the pan over a wire rack for at least 15 minutes.
- Remove the cooled bars from the pan by grabbing onto the parchment "wings" then slice. Store in a sealed container for up to one week.