Healthy Date Squares Vegan Gluten Free Food

HEALTHY DATE SQUARES (VEGAN, GLUTEN-FREE)

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9-inch square pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
• Add the dates and water to a medium-sized sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 7-8 minutes, or until the dates have softened. Towards the end of the cook time, start mashing the dates with a fork which helps absorb any remaining liquid. Cover and set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, quinoa flakes, almond flour, coconut sugar, cinnamon and salt.
• In a small microwave safe bowl, add the almond butter, maple syrup and coconut oil and microwave on two 30-second intervals, stirring in between and after until smooth.
• Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients, and stir until wet and crumbly.
• Press a little over half of the crumble mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.
• Spread on the warm date filling.
• Sprinkle on the remaining crumble mixture and press it lightly into the date filling.
• Bake for 28-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
• Using the edges of the parchment paper, lift the date squares out of the pan and cut into 16 pieces.
• Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days, or in the refrigerator for 6-7 days. Freeze for up to 3 months.

GLUTEN-FREE VEGAN DATE SQUARES

Steps:

• Soak the pitted dates in hot water for 20 minutes. After soaking, drain well.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place 1.75 cups of oats in a food processor or high-speed blender and blend them into a fine flour. If you're using store-bought or previously prepared oat flour, use 175 g.
• Add the oat flour and the rest of the crust ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir to combine into a crumbly mixture.
• Spray a 7-8 inch square baking pan with non-sticking cooking spray (or grease with a touch of coconut oil).
• Firmly press about 2 cups of the oat mixture into the bottom of the pan.
• Add the drained dates to a food processor with the salt and mix into a paste. It's ok if it's a little chunky. You can also just squeeze the dates into a paste using your hands, that way you don't have to clean out the food processor!
• Evenly spread the dates mixture over the crust layer in the pan.
• Top the date layer with the rest of the oat mixture. Press the oat mixture down over the dates with a little pressure to help meld the 3 layers together.
• Bake for 40 minutes then let them cool for at least 2 hours in the pan. You can put them in the fridge to speed up the process. This is an important step. I know it's hard to wait but if you slice them too early they'll be crumbly. Once they cool they'll be completely firm and hold together in squares.
• Once they're cool, slice into 16 squares and serve right away or store in the fridge for up to 1 week or freezer for up to 3 months.

VEGAN GLUTEN-FREE DATE SQUARES

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 180*C (160*C fan assisted)/ 350*F First make the date filling - add the dates to a pan and start off by adding 1/2 a cup (100ml) of water. Cook on high until the water starts to boil then turn the heat to low. Start mashing the the dates using the back of a wooden spoon. Add more water as needed until you have a smooth, thick, but spreadable date paste. Leave to cool. In a large bowl, mix together the oat flour, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom and sweetener if using any. Place the oat mixture in a food processor along with the coconut oil and almond butter. Pulse until everything is well combined and you have a crumble like mixture. Transfer 2/3 of the oat mixture into an 8" cake tin lined with parchment paper. Press the mixture down firmly into an even layer. Spread the date mixture on top, then crumble the remaining 1/3 of the oat mixture on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Leave to cool completely, then slice. Enjoy!

DATE SQUARES (GLUTEN FREE)

Steps:

• Preheat Oven to 350°F.
• Mix and cook filling ingredients over low heat until semi thick.
• Cool.
• Mix all dough ingredients together and press ¾ of mixture into bottom of greased 9x9inch pan.
• Spread the filling over top.
• Sprinkle the rest of the dough mixture over filling.
• Bake in preheated oven until top is golden (approx. 25 minutes).
• Cool & cut into squares.
• Enjoy.