Coffee Chocolate Oat Bars (Vegan)

Yield: 16-ish bars, depending on how you cut ‘em

Ingredients

Filling:

• 1 ½ cups (224g) pitted Medjool dates, roughly chopped
• 1 ¼ cups (300g) strongly brewed Ampersand Coffee Roasters Honduras Medium Roast, hot or warm
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 3 ½ ounces (100g) dark chocolate, chopped*

Oaty Top & Bottom:

• 1 cup + 2 Tbsp (135g) all-purpose flour
• ½ cup (45g) Renewal Mill Upcycled Oat Milk Flour
• 1 cup (89g) old-fashioned rolled oats
• ²/₃ cup (142g) light brown sugar, packed
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup + 1 Tbsp (127g) coconut oil, melted

*Many types of dark chocolate are vegan, but just double-check when purchasing chocolate for this recipe.

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line and grease an 8" x 8" metal baking pan with parchment paper.
2. In the container of a high-powered blender, blitz together dates, coffee, and vanilla until smooth (2–3 minutes). Set aside to thicken up whilst you make the oaty top and bottom.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Pour melted coconut oil into bowl of dry ingredients. Mix with a spatula until coconut oil is throughout. (Ditch the spatula and get in there and mix with your hands, if necessary to fully incorporate the oil.)
4. Reserve 1 cup (about 170g) of the oaty mixture for the topping. Press remaining oaty mixture into bottom of prepared pan.
5. Spread date and coffee filling over oaty bottom, smoothing top with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Sprinkle chopped chocolate on top, then sprinkle with oaty topping.
6. Bake for 30–35 minutes. Bars are done when topping is set and light golden brown.
7. Let cool for at least an hour before cutting. (Personally, we recommend letting the bars cool completely, then sit overnight in the fridge. We found these bars to be even yummier the next day!)

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Adapted from: Ambitious Kitchen