Cookie Dough Protein Bars

 

I had an epiphany one day and I was sure I was going to create these protein bars but I wasn't sure if it would work. So finally after contemplating and having my dates soak overnight I was ready to jump in.

Ingredients:

1 cup of dried dates
1.5 cups vanilla protein powder
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts
.5 cup dark chocolate

 

Step 1:

Soak approximately 1 cup of dried dates in water overnight. This is very important.. I suppose that you could blend dried date with hot water but I didn't do that so I'm not really sure.

 

Step 2:

The next morning scoop out the dates and throw them into your blender, make sure you reserve the date water for later.

Step 3:

Once your dates are blended well throw them in a mixing bowl and an add in your protein powder, your choice of nuts and chocolate chunks.

I coarsely chopped my nuts in a blender you can hand chop them as well it just depends on how coarse or fine you want them.

I used .5 cup of cashews and .5 cup of peanuts. I think macadamia nuts pecans or almonds would taste very good too. Just make sure not to choose a nut that has a very strong flavor.

* if you don't want to use protein powder I would suggest using something light and sweet like coconut flour or use half coconut and half vanilla protein.

 

 

 

 

Step 4:

Mix away. Make sure you scrape the sides as you mix, the batter gets very sticky. If you're better turns out too soupy add more dry ingredients. If your batter is to dry here is where the date water comes in handy... add some in small amounts.

Step 5:

Coat a loaf pan very well with coconut oil and scoop the batter in. Spread evenly and let sit. After make sure its some of the water will evaporate and it'll become thicker but if the consistency is still not thick enough to cut into a bar bake them at 200 degrees for approximately 30 minutes.

These do not need to be baked although if you want them dryer (if you're batter did not come out dry enough) you can bake them.

The recipe would also be good to mix into your own homemade ice cream :) top some yummy chocolate brownies, for even make a cookie dough pie!

Just by them self, these bars are heavenly!!

 Nutrition Facts:

Servings 8.0
Amount Per Serving
Calories 228
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 13 g	20 %
Saturated Fat 4 g	21 %
Monounsaturated Fat 4 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 1 mg	0 %
Sodium 43 mg	2 %
Potassium 257 mg	7 %
Total Carbohydrate 21 g	7 %
Dietary Fiber 3 g	11 %
Sugars 16 g
Protein 11 g	22 %
Vitamin A	7 %
Vitamin C	6 %
Calcium	10 %
Iron	12 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.