Apple Spice Date-Nut Squares are My Easy, Quick and Tasty Snack
I’ve been on a mission on Whole30 to make some great snacks, because I am a huuuge snacker and always need something to munch on in between meals. I’ve come up with a couple of good keepers. The last one I shared with you, was a savory Spicy Garlic Roasted Rosemary Nuts snack. Coming up next – these Apple Spice Date-Nut Squares are my easy, quick and tasty snack.
I love these a ton – I make them often and forgot that I could have these on Whole30! (woop woop!) I make difference variants depending on my mood, but they are always used with nuts, dates and nut butter. Pretty easy if you ask me! I tested them several times because I wanted it a bit more appley and a couple times prior they turned out weird and consistency was weird.
These aren’t exactly as apple-pie as you’d want them to be, because clearly there is no butter, nor pastry crust! But, I paired almonds and walnuts which I thought was a good combo to resemble the flavors of an apple pie, with a good amount of dried apple slices. These give the bars a really great apple flavor, without having to add real apples (that could oxidize and go bad quickly) or applesauce (tried that and did not work!).
Of course, it wouldn’t be an apple pie resemblance without the spices! I used five total spices which taste soo good and are often found in your everyday apple pie recipes.
Here are some top tips to make great apple date-nut bars!
- Unless your nuts are already roasted, don’t forget to roast them in the oven! Roasting nuts gives a much more nuttier flavor and really helps accentuate the taste. Also gives a better crunch texture!
- Please do not sub coconut butter with coconut oil. These are the same thing! Coconut butter is made from the entire coconut, while the oil is an extraction of the whole coconut. The Kitchn has a great article on the difference and their purposes for each
- Use dehydrated apple slices – instead of freeze-dried apple. The main difference here is the moisture content. We need that moisture to help bind the bars together, and the flavor comes out!
Apple Spice Date-Nut Squares
An easy snack to have in the house or on the go! Packed with nutritious ingredients and no sugar crash!
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 1 cup raw walnuts
- 20 grams dried apple slices
- 10 pitted dates
- 2 tbsp coconut butter
- 2 tbsp nut butter (I used almond butter )
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp salt
Roast nuts for 12 minutes in a 350 degree fahrenheit oven, tossing/turning halfway through
Microwave nut/coconut butter together for 20 seconds, 10 seconds at a time, set aside
Combine all ingredients except nut butter mixture into a food processor, pulse until grainy (but not until nut butter texture – you've gone too far!)
Add in melted nut butter mixture at the end and pulse a few times until just incorporated
Line a 8×8 pan or smaller with plastic wrap, pour in date-nut mixture and flatten with hands or measuring cup.Cover with plastic wrap making sure the wrap touches the bars and freeze for 15-20 minutes until hardened
Remove the bars using the plastic wrap, and cut into 8 bars of 16 squares. Keep them in the freezer to keep fresh and in shape
Feel free to tweak the recipe as you see fit with different spices, it can be all cinnamon or maybe you want to add more ginger. Go for it! Let the snacking begin!
Love,
Rina
