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Snack recipe · from the recipe book

Cocoa Pecan Date Baked Oat Bars

Chewy, chocolatey oat bars studded with sticky dates and toasty pecans, with a warm hint of cinnamon and orange.

Cocoa Pecan Date Baked Oat Bars

Ingredients

  • 1 cup90 gOld-fashioned rolled oats
  • 3 tbsp15 gUnsweetened cocoa powder
  • ½ tsp1 gGround cinnamon
  • ½ tsp2 gBaking powder
  • ⅛ tsp0.5 gSalt
  • 2½ tbsp40 gAlmond butter, no salt addedstirred well
  • ⅓ cup80 gPumpkin puree, canned
  • 1 tbsp25 gMaple syrup
  • 1 tsp4 gVanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp (30 ml)30 gOrange juice
  • 60 gMedjool dates, pittedchopped
  • ¼ cup chopped30 gPecanschopped
  • ½ tsp2 gCanola oil

Steps

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Brush a loaf pan with the canola oil and line it with parchment.
  2. Chop the dates and the pecans; set them aside separately.
  3. In a large bowl, stir together the oats, the unsweetened cocoa powder, the cinnamon, the baking powder and the salt until the cocoa powder is evenly mixed through.
  4. In a second bowl, whisk the almond butter, pumpkin, maple syrup, vanilla and orange juice until smooth.
  5. Pour the almond butter mixture into the cocoa-oat mixture and stir until no dry oats or streaks of cocoa powder remain.
  6. Fold in the dates and half of the pecans.
  7. Press the mixture evenly into the pan and scatter the remaining half of the pecans on top, pressing them in lightly.
  8. Bake 22 to 25 minutes, until the top is set and a toothpick comes out clean.
  9. Cool in the pan on a rack for 20 minutes, then lift out and cut into 4 bars.

Check labels: Gluten-free when you buy old-fashioned rolled oats labeled gluten-free.

Contains: Tree nuts. Some brands contain gluten.

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Saved in the Every Helping recipe book on October 24, 2026.

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