Healthy, gluten free apple crumble bars made vegan with dates & coconut oil. These snack bars are low in added sugar, with just a little coconut sugar.
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine Vegan
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time 20 minutesminutes
Total Time 30 minutesminutes
Servings 16small bars
Ingredients
Base and Crumble Topping
2cups/ 220 grams rolled oatsground into a coarse flour
Preheat your oven to 180C / 350F and line a 20cm square baking tin with parchment paper.
In your food processor, grind the oats into flour. Add the coconut sugar, dates, coconut oil, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix on high speed until a slightly crumbly dough forms. You should be able to press it between your fingers have it hold its shape. If it's too dry, add the milk and mix again. Don't add more than a tablespoon - if it seems like it's not quite coming together, mix it for longer and it will.
Using your hands, press about two-thirds of the dough (220 grams*) into the prepared baking tin and reserve the rest (160 grams) for the crumble topping. Try to make it as even as possible, as it will be quite thin. Spread the apple filling over the base and then top with the remaining crumble mixture.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the tin before removing and slicing. I suggest placing the tin in the refrigerator or freezer for at least 30 minutes before slicing to keep the bars neat. Store the bars in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
Apple Filling
Core and dice the apples (don't peel them) and place them, along with the dates and water, into a small saucepan. Cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes or until soft. Stir in the cinnamon and cool slightly before blending until smooth.
Notes
• I did indeed weigh the dough for you. If you're a baking perfectionist, I've got you covered. • If the apple filling is still warm when you're blending it, make sure you have the vent open (on a food processor at least) to keep it from getting really hot. • As I mentioned above, you can substitute pre-made apple butter for the filling instead of making it from scratch (not apple sauce, it'll be too thin) and save a good bit of time. * If your dates are dry, soak them in hot water for half an hour first. ** I always like to use fresh nutmeg. It's more cost effective, lasts longer, and tastes much better. *** Try to use a tart apple without a very high moisture content. I used boskopf apples. **** For the filling the dates can be quite hard and dry because you're cooking them in any case.