Send them Back to School with Apple Date Cookie Bars

These healthy low sugar Apple Date Cookie Bars are great to pack in lunch boxes, serve as an after school snack, or even enjoy for breakfast.

Every month the Fill the Cookie Jar Bloggers make cookies based on a theme and share them on the same day. We are getting the jump on Back to School with our theme this month. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page to see what the others have made.

These Apple Date Bars are so simple to make and quick to bake. Which is nice when it is still 95 plus degrees outside. We won’t cool off here until late October.

The bars were not very sweet. If you want them a bit sweeter, you can substitute all or some of the dates with brown sugar or your favorite sugar substitute (some extra maple syrup would be good).

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Apple Date Cookie Bars

Ingredients

FILLING

• 1 1/2 cup apples peeled, cored and thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts pecans or walnuts
• 1/4 cup coconut or brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg optional

BASE

• 2 cups oats quick cooking or old fashioned
• 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup dates pureed with water to make a thick paste
• 1/2 cup butter or coconut oil melted
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9" square baking pan.
2. In a small bowl, combine filling ingredients and set aside for 5-10 minutes to become syrupy.
3. In a large bowl, mix all base ingredients together with a wooden spoon.
4. Spread half of the base in the prepared 9" pan. Cover with filling. Crumble the remaining base ingredients over the top.
5. Bake at 350 degrees until the top is turning light brown, about 25 minutes.

Recipe Notes

These are not overly sweet. If you want them slightly sweeter, substitute half of the pureed dates with brown sugar or desired substitute.

Recipes from the other Fill the Cookie Jar Bloggers:

Giant Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies by Family Around the Table

No Bake Brownie Energy Bites by Join Us, Pull up a Chair

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cookies by Jolene’s Recipe Journal

Teachers Rule Cookies By Palatable Pastime

Clean the Cupboard Cookie Bars by A Day In The Life On The Farm

Trail Mix Cookies by Home Sweet Homestead

Orange Anise Cookies By This and That

Monster Reese’s Pieces Cookie Bars by Cookaholic Wife

Oatmeal Blueberry Cookies by Organized 31

Apple Date Cookie Bars by That Recipe

Cherry Pie Tassies by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings

Sesame Balls by Feeding Big