Pear Crumble Bars

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8×8 inch (or smaller) pan or line with parchment paper. Set aside.

For the filling:
Combine lemon juice, cornstarch, maple syrup, cinnamon and cardamom in a medium bowl.

Peel and chop pears and add them into the lemon juice mixture. Carefully stir to coat and set aside.

For the crust:
Add 1/2 cup of oats and the almonds and cashews into a blender* and grind until a flour forms. Add dates and continue to blend until dates are chopped. Transfer mixture into a bowl. Mix in baking powder, honey, vanilla extract, coconut, and 1/4 cup of oats (not ground). Cut in the dairy-free butter with a fork so mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Press about 2/3 of the crumb mixture down into the bottom of the pan with your fingers. Spoon pear filling over top. Crumble remaining crumb mixture over top and press down with a spatula. You may not have enough to completely cover the top.

Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Remove pan from the oven and allow bars to cool for at least 30 minutes before removing from pan.

*Blender note: If you have a food processor, this may do a better job chopping the dates. Having said that, I have the cheapest blender available and it still does the job!