Samoa Cookie Bars

These cookie bars are made with wholefood ingredients, but they’re a little different to the regular recipes I normally post here on our blog. They contain maple syrup and dates, which doesn’t make them low glycemic, but once in a while, and while you’re transitioning away from processed foods, these will serve you as a wonderful treat. Makes 12 bars.  

Ingredients

Shortbread cookie:

• ⅓ C coconut oil
• 2 T maple syrup
• 2 C almond flour
• ¼ C coconut flour
• ¼ t sea salt

Caramel coconut layer:

• 1 ½ C unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted
• ½ C almond butter (or another nut/seed butter of choice)
• 1 C pitted medjool dates, soaked for 10 mins
• ¼-⅓ C water
• 1 t vanilla extract
• ¼ t salt
• ½ bar of chocolate, ideally one sweetened with xylitol or coconut sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Mix all the cookie ingredients together.
3. Press the dough into the bottom of a loaf pan lined with parchment paper, or roll, cut or press it into individual cookies.
4. Bake for 13-15 minutes (or 11-12 for thinner cookies) at 350 degrees until golden brown. Let them cool.
5. Meanwhile, combine the soaked and drained dates, almond butter, vanilla, and salt in a food processor. Process slowly adding water as needed until you have a thick smooth paste.
6. Pulse in the toasted coconut.
7. Spread mixture on top of the cookie base, then refrigerate or freeze until firm.
8. Melt the chocolate in a pan.
9. Slice the bars into 8-12 squares, or as big as you’d like them.
10. Dip the bottom of each bar into the melted chocolate, then drizzle the remaining chocolate over the tops of the bars.
11. Chill until fully set, then enjoy! Keep any leftovers in the fridge.