These Chewy Chai Apple Bars are spicy-sweet and the perfect snack or dessert that is naturally paleo, vegan, and whole30 friendly!
Hello my name is Taylor and I have a weird addiction to putting apples and dates in a food processor.
It started with the caramel apple peanut kettle corn bars which then turned into no bake whole30 apple almond butter bars and then THESE were born.
They’re kind of like a hybrid of those bars MIXED with paleo brownies because that is where I learned that adding fruit into your no bake desserts is a real thing that exists and it is GOOD.
These bars though. They’re chewy, soft, spicy and sweet and basically the coziest little snack that your hungry mouth could want during these cold months!
Chai Apple Bars Ingredients
I don’t know about you, but I LOVE me some snacks. I get excited at alllll the possibilities there are when it comes to snacking, and when snacks are healthy, nourishing, and give me energy to go about my day, I am so down. Quick and easy bars like Sugar Free Low Carb Keto Granola Bars that also tasty MIGHTY FINE are right up my alley! Let’s get our list of ingredients together and get this party started.
For these delicious bars, you will need:
- Slivered Almonds
- Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
- Deglet noor dates
- Cinnamon
- Cardamom
- Cloves
- Ginger
- Coriander
- Black Pepper
- Apple
- Coconut Oil
- Creamy Almond Butter
What Spices are in Chai Tea?
I love me some chai tea flavor. It’s so warm, so cozy, SO inviting, and the combination of vibrant spices mixed with the rich and creamy whole milk just does it for me! If you’re like me, you’ll want to also check out Chai Gluten Free Pumpkin Cheesecake and Vegan Protein Muffins with Chai and Vanilla. Sooo you know how much you LOVE that chai tea flavor, but have you ever wondered what combination of spices make it so good? Here are the main spices (called “masala”) used in chai tea:
- Cinnamon
- Ginger
- Cloves
- Cardamom
- Star Anise
- Fennel
How to make Chai Apple Bars
Toast
Spread your coconut and almonds on 2 separate baking sheets that are lined with parchment paper. In an oven preheated to 350 degrees, toast the coconut and almonds until golden brown. They both will toast quickly, so be sure to keep an eye on them. Coconut toasts a bit quicker than almonds.
Blend
Put about a ¾ cup worth of the almonds into a food processer and process until they are well broken down. Add in the spices and dates and process until everything is broken down and well combined. Add in the coconut and repeat. Add in the apple and coconut oil and blend until everything is well mixed, scraping the edges with a spatula if need be.
Prepare
Line an 8 x 8 baking pan with parchment paper and spread approximately half of the mixture in the bottom of the pan. Having slightly wet hands will help with this as it is quite sticky! Spread the almond butter gently over top, then add the rest of the date mixture and press it in with wet hands.
Freeze
Press the remaining almonds into the top of the bars. Cover with foil and freeze for at least 4 hours.
Enjoy
Slice into bars and DEVOUR!
Mix It Up!
Another thing I just LOVE about these bars is how creative you can get with them. In the recipe, I use almonds and almond butter, but you can use other types of nuts and they will be just as AMAZE.
Almonds: These bars would also be tasty if you substitute pecans, cashews, peanuts, hazelnuts or even walnuts if you love them!
Almond Butter: Similarly, feel free to use cashew butter, pecan butter, cashew butter, ANY type of nut butter, really! All of those options would be delish!
How to Store
They’re easy, they’re tasty, and you are gonna love snacking on these fabulous bars! To store them, the secret is to store them in the freezer. They’re quite sticky and can get soft pretty quickly, so store them in the freezer in an airtight container and pull them out when you’re ready to enjoy them!
Now go and enter snack city!
Chai Apple Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes plus 2 tablespoons (20g)
- 1 1/2 cups Deglet Noor Dates halved (220g)
- 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1/2 large Apple roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon Coconut Oil melted
- 1/3 cup Creamy Almond Butter plus 2 tablespoons
Instructions
-
Preheat your oven to 375°F. Spread the almonds and coconut flakes on two baking sheets and toast until golden brown. The coconut will only take a couple minutes, so watch it closely. The almonds cook quickly too, so watch them too!
-
Place ¾ cup of the almonds in a large food processor and process until broken down. Add in the dates and spices and process until the dates are broken down and everything is mixed. Add in the coconut and repeat until well mixed.
-
Add in the apple and coconut oil and process until the mixture begins to come together, you may need to scrape the edges with a spatula.
-
Line an 8×8 inch pan with parchment paper and spread half the mixture in the bottom. It is sticky so I find having lightly wet hands helps a lot!
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Gently, spread the almond butter over top. Finally, drop the remaining date mixture over the tops and smooth out evenly. Again, use lightly wet hands here to make it easy.
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Press the remaining almonds into the top of the bars. Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours.
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Slice and DEVOUR!
Notes
Nutrition
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