A fruity and flavorful bar without the sugar.
I've tried so many sugarless recipes but this is by far the best! Tastes so much better than those packaged "healthy" breakfast muffins/bars and it's by far better for you! I added orange juice instead of water, used butter but cut it in half, threw in some nutmeg and cinnamon, and cut the white flour with whole-wheat, ground flax seed, and wheat germ. The resulting bars were SO flavorful, moist, chewy, and possibly a little too sweet! Next time I will only replace 1/2c water with orange juice and add less dates, and I might replace most of the fat with applesauce. This is for sure worth a try if you're looking for a healthy sweet snack without the refined sugar.
Read MoreVery good taste, but not suitable for diabetics. As the fruit is very high in natural sugar. An alternative would be to rinse the dates and prunes of the syrup they are coated in when bought, and then add them to the recipe, but I only ate one small piece being diabetic and it rose my blood sugars alarmingly.
Read MoreI've tried so many sugarless recipes but this is by far the best! Tastes so much better than those packaged "healthy" breakfast muffins/bars and it's by far better for you! I added orange juice instead of water, used butter but cut it in half, threw in some nutmeg and cinnamon, and cut the white flour with whole-wheat, ground flax seed, and wheat germ. The resulting bars were SO flavorful, moist, chewy, and possibly a little too sweet! Next time I will only replace 1/2c water with orange juice and add less dates, and I might replace most of the fat with applesauce. This is for sure worth a try if you're looking for a healthy sweet snack without the refined sugar.
I have been looking for a sugarfree recipe like this. Also, may I suggest something? Some diabetics can't have flour either; Instead of using a cup of flour, grind enough nuts to make an equal amount for replacement of flour. The nuts must be ground to a dustlike substance. Thank you again. I will let you know how they came out. April
People who knew these were intentionally sugarless loved them. I thought they were great! Kept half of the bars wrapped for a day which brought out the moistness of the fruit and rounded out the flavors. Excellent for mailing in "care packages."
These were moist and delicious, I added a jumble of dried fruit bits instead of dates and prunes(not a big fan) and they were still lovely, also boiled the fruits in oj/water mix to slightly sweeten the batter.
Very good taste, but not suitable for diabetics. As the fruit is very high in natural sugar. An alternative would be to rinse the dates and prunes of the syrup they are coated in when bought, and then add them to the recipe, but I only ate one small piece being diabetic and it rose my blood sugars alarmingly.
My husband is diabetic, so I made these for him, but I loved them! I am a real sugar addict and I love to bake, but I found these bars very easy and yummy. They satisfy my sweet tooth without the sugar and fat. I even made some for the nurse and nutritionist who counsel my husband. I ran off a copy of the recipe and brought warm bars in to one of his appointments. They loved them, too! A real winner! Kids may not like the nuts, but you could leave them out.
These bars do not have ADDED sugar, but raisins, dates and prunes do have sugar. My box of raisins says 29 grams of sugar per 1/4 cup of raisins. The sugar naturally found in fruit may be better than added processed sugar, but don't count it out completely.
It is worth mentioning that these, like most "sugar free" recipes are NOT sugar free. The dried fruits contain plenty of sugar.
i made this recipe as muffins (it didn't make a whole dozen) and my parents raved about them, they loved that they were full of fruit and fiber. they had a surprisingly dense and moist texture, which was great. i guess my cravings for a junkier treat got the best of me, but overall this recipe is wonderful since it doesn't use sugar in addition to the fruits' sugar.
excellent diabetic recipe.i find it very difficult to find good recipes to make for my dad, who loves sweets, but can't have the sugar. most are bland, but this one was a hit with diabetics, and everyone else in the family! even those with a sugar tooth liked them! highly recommended.
It is the very best. If you love the ingredients? You will love this recipe.I've known about this recipe fpr only one wk. and have made it 4 times already.I take it to my husbands nursing home and the staff just loves it, especially the ones with dieabeties.
I loved These ! I made them in the beggining for my moms husband whos diabetic, but I ended up eating them !They are so satisfying if you want somthing sweet ! And at least its healthy. I actually loved them SO much I was eating them for lunch and breakfast unintentionally and I LOST weight ! Thanx for the recipe !
I'd have given 20 stars if they'd allowed it! This is excellent on many levels, most importantly that it is naturally sweetened (And yes, best with wheat flour & ground flax). I was intending to photograph, because this entry needs to be honored with a picture, but haven't gotten there yet. But this recipe is a keeper to pass down through generations because of its health benefits and great taste. By the way, we used all dates because that's what we had.
This is a great recipe. The texture is very light and is similar to that of a coffee cake. The taste is fabulous. I added a 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract and I used 1 cup of orange juice instead of water. It was a huge success in my home. :) Thank you for sharing this recipe with all of us who are trying to live without sugar.
Nice change from muffins. I changed the walnuts for a mixture of ground flax seeds and chopped sunflower seeds. The first day I took them to work I was asked for the recipe for a diabetic family member. Will definately make these again.
Very good, but as someone who cooks quite often for diabetics (and I too watch my sugar intake), I can say that the "fruits" used in this recipe are VERY high in sugar--natural--but sugar nonethless. I'm just wondering if any diabetics out there have tested their sugars after eating these delicious bars and if so, have they raised your sugar significantly? Thank you so very much for posting this, and for those who care to respond to my question! Have a great day!
these are great, not too sweet,i made them as written, my husband who has a a sweet tooth really liked these, of course i didn't tell him that they were sugarless! i would like to try them next time without the prunes and doubling the dates
I thought these turned out really good. I did make a few changes though; due to the fact that I needed to use a few things up that I already had. I used dried apricots,cranberries and dates instead. I also had just a few raisins so I added those. I opted to add the cinnamon and nutmeg. I also didn't have enough vanilla so I added 1/2tsp vanilla and 1/2tsp almond extract. I will say even though I made so many changes this turned out well. I would say that I will definately make these again. Thanks.
Great as a breakfast bar. I made them for a diabetic friend at christmas and he loved them.
As I was using these bars to help out my 3-yr-old's "system," I wanted to make them appealing as possible. So, I added some seasoning with 1 t cinnamon, 1/2 t each of cloves and nutmeg. I replaced 1/2 the butter with applesauce, and then an additional 1/2 c applesauce for more flavor. To account for that added moisture I dumped in 1/2 c flax.... another digestive helper! My son GOBBLED THESE DOWN! I told him it was cake and he thought they were simply delicious! Oh, rather than a 7x11, I baked these in a 9x9 and that worked perfectly.
Excellent! Exceptionally moist, very flavorful. I can't have refined sugar. This is the best recipe I have found without refined sugar or sugar substitute. Thanks very much.
My friends said this tasted much like the jewish honey cake their mothers baked.
These are good. You can definitely tell there is no added sugars, so if you want something sweet, this is not the recipe for you. They turn out like a snack cake, and are very moist, especially after sitting over night. I used unsweetened applesauce for half of the butter. I would probably make these again when I want a healthier snack.
This is a great recipe for diabetics. Please keep more like this coming!
For what they are, they were really great! Made them for a sugar intolerant grandpa for the holidays. They aren't much for the eye though - they actually look like they have chocolate in them! I will prolly make these again.
This bar recipies is sooooo good! I add a little more fruit and nuts to it It is so moist and flavorful - I make it at least once a week. Everybody loves it...even kids!!
This is the BEST recipe ever! Great tasting and quality ingredients. Thanks for sharing.
These aren't bad at all! I have a diabetic neighbor I wanted to bake for and these tasted great even to me! I used dried apricots and green apples instead of dates and prunes. And since dried fruits aren't sugarless, I rinsed them thoroughly first (trying to get rid of some of the sugary syrup coating). I also only used 1/4 cup margarine and pecans instead of walnuts. They're not a bad snack if you don't mind a little less sweetness...I would probably drizzle a little cream cheese frosting on them next time for the sugar-eaters.
It's not sweet like cake but more like a nice bread with nuts and sweetness from the dried fruits. I used 1/4 whole wheat flour and butter instead of margarine, and the texture is soft and just moist enough (25 minutes baking time). I wouldn't make this for someone who is diabetic or trying to lose weight, because the dried fruits and flour do contain a lot of sugar/carbohydrates.
My husband and daughter liked these bars. My daughter does not usually eat bread or muffins, so it was a nice surprise to have her eat these. I generally prefer sweeter desserts, but I enjoyed eating these bars for breakfast.
This is a great recipe. I made a few changes, dried apricots instead of prunes, used 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour and 1/2 unbleached flour and added unsweetened carob chips (my son loves these, if your not used to carob chips don't add them, they do have a strong taste). I also added the spices and used 1/2 OJ and 1/2 water. They smelled great baking and even my husband ate up several before they cooled. I only bake without refined sweeteners of any kind (artificial included) and this will be a frequently used recipe at my house, you can easily vary it by using different fruits etc! Even the neighbors kids ate up a couple bars!!
Not bad..I have a serious sweet tooth, but I did like these for having no sugar in it. Nice texture to them. Nice recipe, if someone wants to jazz em up, just add a nice drizzle of frosting to sweeten them up. But for the healthy person, these are wonderful the way they are
I made these with dried cherries and dates. They were very good and were satisfying when I wanted something sweet.
Wonderful recipe. I haven't made any changes to the recipe. My nieces love these bars.
I used a 7 1/2" x 12" pan and the bars were over an inch high. Great color and taste.
To reduce the fat you can substitute 1/3 cup of applesauce for three to four tablespoons of the butter. I used real butter since I as using less to add more flavor. I substituted dried cranberries for the prunes. Delicious!
This was a great Lenten "non-dessert" for those abstaining from sweets! The flavor was very good, and the texture was great, too. I might add more nuts next time, but it was good as written. Thanks!
My husband is a diabetic and it's hard to find recipes for sweets that he likes. He wasn't overwhelmed by these bars but said they were "OK". I LOVED them! Guess you really have to like dried fruits; dates, raisons etc. I couldn't find dates so I used dried apricots. Very moist and flavorful! Thanks.
Kind of bland for a cookie. The texture is more like a quick bread--this batter would make good muffins!
I was pleasantly surprised at how these turned out! I’m trying to cut out refined sugars as much as I can, and these will be great for breakfast and snacks on the go. I substituted 1/2 cup water with OJ like another commenter did, and sprinkled cinnamon on the top before baking. Used a 9x9 pan and 30 minutes in the oven did the trick. Delicious!
This is great for breakfast! You never even miss the sugar. The cinnamon and nutmeg definitely gives it an extra kick. Almost like spice cake. Great served warm with a little butter.
I could not find dates without added sugar so I substituted currants. I also added three cinnamon sticks to the bubbling fruit and butter and also a splash of brandy, I added two teaspoons pumpkin pie spice and toasted my walnuts before adding them to the batter. These came out so good! I kept them in the fridge overnight and they were even better, great recipe!
I was asked to make sugar free goodies for Grandparent's Day @ school -- these were OK. I mean nothing compared to a real brownie or anything, but tasted like a nice sweet coffee cake. I drizzled some sugar free cream cheese frosting over them to add some appeal. I only had dried cranberries (Craisens) and raisens, so just made sure I put 1 1/2 cups total fruit in them. Like another reviewer stated though - be aware that all that fruit counts for some sugar in diabetic exchanges. But, not a bad coffee cake-like recipe for special diets.
I tried this recipe because I had a lot of raisins and wanted to make something so I could use some of them. My husband and I both loved this recipe! I did add a little cinnamon but didn't change anything else. The only 7"x 11" pan I had was glass, so I had to adjust the bake time...23 minutes worked great! Best thing is no added sugar!!!
I used 1/2 C water plus 1/2 C orange juice, butter instead of margarine and omitted the prunes and added the nutmeg and cinnamon. Although I did like the taste it was too cake like to me. I was expecting a firmer bar.
The family loved this recipe- have basically followed as is. To make it healthier, have used 1/2 whole wheat flour & 1/2 all purpose (have also used only whole wheat). Have also tried no salt margarine and sometimes add dried cranberries as well.By the way, did not add salt, but definitely add cinnamon and nutmeg. Can’t go wrong with this recipe... totally delicious!
I don't care for raisins so I left them out and increased the prunes/figs slightly. I also substituted apple sauce for the margarine and added about a tablespoon of butter.
I just made this recipe, substituting GF flour & butter rather than margarine. It is so good - I wasn't too specific with my fruit measurements (I used more), so it was probably more chewy than the original recipe. Thanks for sharing - I know my 2 teenage boys will love it.
Excellent- not too sweet, but sweet enough. Super nutty,dense (but moist) bread. A bit bland for me without the Cinnamon/nutmeg. So good without a single change!!
This was really quite good. I used gluten free Ryze rice flour. Would definitely make it again because it has lots of nutritious fruit and nuts.
I was expecting something like a cereal bar. But mine came out as a cake. As a cake, it's not bad. But if you're expecting something you can munch on while commuting to work, move on.
I just made these for my daughter who is allergic to multiple things. I used 2 ripe mashed bananas in place of eggs, 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of oats, and safflower oil instead of butter & I did use about 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. They are delicious! A new favorite! Thanks for posting!
I'm a Type 1 diabetic who is prone to hypoglycemic episodes when I don't snack. This recipe is so great because the sugars from the dates, prunes and raisins raise my glucose levels to just the right place while at the same time, the bars taste awesome! Thanks so much for this recipe!
Made without the prunes. Instead used double the dates. Also added cinnamon and double the vanilla. It was a delicious recipe. Highly recommend it!
Super tasty. I was worried with how brown it came out of the oven. Then I realized that it’s the soaking and boiling of the fruit which gives it a brown bread color.
I made this today. I was sceptical at first worried that it would be too bitter or too dry but it has turned out great. I substituted dates for figs and added some pure cocoa powder in substitute for some of the flour. This works brilliantly and the end product was sort of like a moist sugar free chocolate brownie. Will bake again- seems like there's so much room for experimentation and personalisation with this recipe and not much room to go wrong. While this may not be appropriate for those who require a sugar free diet for medical reasons it is a great way of having a tasty and less guilty treat for those trying to cut down on refined sugar for dieting and lifestyle choices.
I used 1 cup of dates and 1/2 cup of dried cherries. They were so good and a hit at the party I took them to.
