yumm…

that was my first impression of these bars…

These are “Lara” type bars… great for energy and full of good for you things without the preservatives or the high price.

The following recipe is just a guideline and you can add or substitute anything you wish, that is a great thing….

How about dried apples and cinnamon, cranberries and dark chocolate chips, pumpkin and spices… so many options!

Also, my food processor can handle the 4 cups of dates, but my old one couldn’t have, so you might want to start by halving the recipe to see what your food processor can handle.

This makes 18 good sized bars… and here is what you need:

Ingedients for Choco-coconut date bars...

  • 4 cups of pitted dates
  • 1/3 cup cashews (I also used puffed millet for a nut free version)
  • 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
  • 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 3 tbsp cocoa powder (unsweetened)
  • 1 tsp Vanilla (I use my homemade extract)

Put 2 cups of dates into the food processor and pulse it until it breaks them up a bit.

Dates...

Add the nuts, puffet millet, seeds, cocoa powder and coconut or whatever dry ingredients you are using

Seeds, nuts, cocoa and coconut

and process until grainy…. add the vanilla…

almost done

Add the rest of the dates a handfull at a time and then process until it starts coming together…

ready

Pour the mixture into a pan (I use a 9X9)

Choco-coconut mix in pan...

and flatten…

flattened...

Put in the Fridge until cooled and hardened and then using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut into 8 bars (6 rows X 3 rows)

Lara-type bars

Store in a container in the fridge or wrap individually…

If you are counting calories, as is these bars are about 166 cal each, which makes them a great snack…

Have fun making your own!