Maggie’s Chocolate Chip Date Nut Bars
- 1⁄4 cup sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1⁄4 tsp salt
- 2 cups dates
- 2 cups walnuts or pecans
- 4 extra large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 Tbsp butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups chocolate chips
- Confectioners’ sugar
Pulse the nuts in food processor until slightly chopped. Add dates and pulse until there are no large date pieces.
In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, dates and nuts. Add the eggs, butter and vanilla; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened (batter will be very stiff), then fold in chocolate chips.
Spread in a greased 8×8 baking pan (use parchment paper on bottom for easy removal). Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool bars on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.
Double recipe for 9×13 pan – chop the nuts & dates in two batches.
Monster Cookies
The following is the original recipe:
- 1/4 pound butter
- 1/2 pound brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 pound smooth peanut butter
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 4.5 cups quick oats
- 1/2 pound milk chocolate chips
- 1/2 pound semisweet chocolate chips
Mix in order. Use 1/4 cup scoop. I fit 6 onto each sheet and place them on parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 min. ENJOY!!
For the 2016 ETR, I (Mike) made some substitutions:
- 1/4 pound coconut oil for the butter
- dairy free dark chocolate chips instead of the milk and semisweet chips
- gluten free oats to make the cookies gluten free
- 1/4 pound light brown sugar and 1/4 pound dark brown sugar for the “brown sugar”. If you use all light brown sugar, you get a much thinner flat cookie that spreads out. The mix of sugars results in a nice thick cookie. I did not try all dark brown sugar.
- I used an ice cream scooper rather than a 1/4 cup measure.
With the modifications, these become gluten and dairy free, but I am hesitant to tell people that because they might not think that they are as good as the really are!
Susan’s Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup unbleached flour
- 1 ½ cups firmly packed brown sugar
- ½ cup toasted wheat germ
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 jar (6 oz.) pear baby food
- 2 egg whites (or 1 whole egg)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13” pan
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a small bowl and blend well. Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and mix well. Spoon batter and spread evenly into prepared baking pan.
Bake for 25 minutes. Cool before cutting into bars
That’s the basic recipe. I usually add craisins, and sometimes chopped pecans or slicd almonds as well. Other add-ins I’ve used are assorted chopped dried fruits (mango, apricots, cherries, apples, etc,) and sunflower seeds.
Enjoy!
Almond Butter-Quinoa Blondies
Recipe By: EatingWell Test Kitchen “People likely won’t even notice that these delicately nutty, just a little chocolaty, blondies are gluten-free. They use quinoa flour, which you can find in well-stocked supermarkets and natural-foods stores, in place of all-purpose flour. To make your own quinoa flour, grind raw quinoa into a powder in a clean coffee grinder. (Adapted from Quinoa Revolution by Patricia Green and Carolyn Hemming.)”
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup smooth or crunchy natural almond butter
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup quinoa flour (see Tip)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 °F. Line an 8-inch- square baking pan with parchment paper (or foil), allowing it to slightly overhang opposite ends. Coat with cooking spray.
Beat butter and almond butter in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until creamy.
Beat in eggs, brown sugar and vanilla. Whisk quinoa flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Mix the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it, 25 to 35 minutes. Do not overbake. Let cool in the pan for 45 minutes. Using the parchment (or foil), lift the whole panful out and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 24 squares. Let cool completely before storing.
Make Ahead Tip: Store airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Look for quinoa flour in the baking section or near gluten-free flours in natural foods stores. Or, to make your own, grind whole grains of quinoa into a powder in a clean coffee grinder.