Gluten-Free No-Bake Granola Bars

Start by making sure your dates are relatively soft. If they are not, soak them in a bowl of hot water for up to 30 minutes and then drain.

Process dates in a food processor and then add maple syrup, coconut oil, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt. Add the oats and pulse until just combined and all the oats are moistened well.

Put the mixture into a bowl. Stir up to 1 cup of mix-ins into the batter, if desired. (I choose to use 2 tablespoons of chia seeds).

Place the mixture into a 9×11 pan that has been lined with wax paper or parchment paper. Add the oats mixture into the pan and using either moistened hands or wax paper, spread out the mixture as evenly as possible. Then I drizzled melted dark chocolate over the top of the bars for the pictured batch—they were insane!

Place in the freezer for 15 minutes and then slice into bars. I prefer storing these bars wrapped individually in wax paper and stored in the fridge. They are fine kept at room temperature as well.