Quick and easy to make, these gluten-free bars, inspired by Elana’s Pantry, are a “kid-tested, mother-approved” sweet treat, as shown in the photo below.
And they offer some solid nutritional value! That’s because almond flour is high in protein and is also a great source of vitamin E; walnuts are packed with omega-3s; dried cranberries have numerous health benefits including immune system and cardiovascular support; and sweet, ripe dates help to provide a tasty source of fiber.
Originally, I was going to call these “Dried Fruitcake Bars,” but I was afraid the name would scare people. LOL! As you can see from the smiling faces below, these dried fruit bars are absolutely delicious!
Meet my expert panel of taste-testers! This healthy sweet treat met the approval of not only my kids, but my neighbors’ kids as well! Further proving that real kids think real food is really tasty!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/4 tsp celtic sea salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 3 large eggs
- 1/4 cup melted butter (or melted coconut oil)
- 3 tbsp pure honey (I prefer sage honey due to its mild flavor)
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup pitted, finely chopped dates (about 10 whole dates)
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries (chopped dried cherries are also a delicious option!)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine almond flour salt and baking soda.
- In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, melted butter, honey and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Whisk in dry ingredients and combine well. Fold in walnuts, dates and cranberries.
- Using a rubber spatula, scrape batter into a well-oiled 8x8-inch baking dish (coconut oil works great).
- Even-out the top of the batter with a spreader and bake for approximately 22-25 minutes, until lightly golden-brown on top.
- Allow to cool for about 10 minutes, then cut into squares and serve. (Original recipe can be found at Elana's Pantry.)
Notes
If you have leftover dates, simply finely chop them into 1 cup portions and freeze them for future use. Any leftover dates that don't make it into one cup portions can be saved in the frig and tossed into a salad or into soaked oatmeal, etc.
Okay, Kelly, these are delicious… and they don’t even contain chocolate!
I made these this afternoon as a warm snack with homemade icecream. Yum! Mind you, I did make a few slight changes. I’m not a fan of chopped nuts in cakes/slices, so I subbed the nuts for some apple pulp that was left from my juicer this afternoon (making apple cider!), and I used raisins instead of cranberries as that is what I had on hand. I expect my version would be sweeter than yours (it wasn’t too sweet, but it made my icecream taste tart! Heh heh), so I should look into using cranberries or incaberries the next time. 
Thanks, Sherdian! I am so glad you enjoyed these. But I can’t take full credit here, as I adapted the recipe from one of Elana’s Pantry’s recipes. I really like your changes – apples and raisins! YUM! What a great way to use your juicing pulp! Thanks for sharing! Blessings to you, Kelly