I love Larabars, but am allergic to overpriced (almost $2 a bar), individually packaged things. Larabars are the perfect energy packed snack to eat before a hike, or a run, or just to get through the day (infomercial much?).
These are so simple to make it’s ridiculous. I will be making these so many more times in the future. This recipe is similar to the Cherry Pie flavor, but with chocolate… because I have a sweet-tooth.
Here’s what you’ll need:
• 1½ cups (about 12) medjool dates, pitted and halved
• 1¼ cup dried cherries
• ¼ cup dried cranberries
• 1¾ cup toasted almonds
• ½ cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
Here’s how you make them:
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In a food processor fitted with the metal blade pulse 1 c of almonds and chocolate until finely chopped. Dump almond chocolate mixture into a bowl and set aside.
Place dates, cherries and cranberries in food processor and run until a ball of gooeyness forms. If your processor gets gummed up, stop the motor and pull apart the ball and restart the processor.
Add the almond chocolate mixture to the processor and mix until well incorporated.
Line a straight sided pan (I used an 8×8 and my bars were rather think. I thick a 9×9 might work out better) with parchment paper (lease some hanging over the sides) and dump mixture in. With your hand press to fill the bottom of the pan. Place another piece of parchment on top and use a flat object to press evenly. Remove top parchment and scatter remaining almonds evenly over mixture. Press almonds into mixture and place pan in the refrigerator for a least 30 minutes.
After refrigeration, use the parchment paper to lift bars out of the pan and slice to desired size. Individually wrap in plastic wrap for later snackage.
Yum.
You can probably get anywhere from 8-15 out of the pan depending on how thick you cut them and size of your pan.
We love homemade larabars in our house! I am going to have to make these. We usually stick with the chocolate mint or the plain date bars.
My only tip; If you are like me and think you can save on clean up mess by just using your immersion blender. Don’t. You will just blow out the motor on the immersion blender and have to transfer everything to your food processor anyways. Leaving you with a big mess and a broken appliance.
Worried kitty wants to know if Larabars will get him through a hard day of napping and purring too… I love the way offbeat homies have a habit of sneaking kitties into their photos!
Kitty says, “I can has Lara bar?”
I love the way offbeat homies have a habit of sneaking kitties into their photos!
I seriously love you guys for this too.
He usually insists on being in the photos. He wants his 15 minutes of fame.
YAY! i too love Lara bars and have been thinking of making my own for some time now!! this post is giving me the motivation to do it!! Cashew Cookie is my fav flavor….any recommendations on cashew to date ratio?? I’ll try your recipe too because….YUM!
When I make cashew cookie bars I roughly follow this ratio:
cashews: about a 1/ 2 cup
dates: about a 1/3
pinch of salt
thanks!
How about the coconut ones? I LUV those, but I too am allergic to the price. Thanks!
This looks amazing!
Once they are done and wrapped, can they be stored in an air tight container on the counter or should they be refrigerated?
I usually refrigerate them. They can get a little stiff when cold, but that can be remedied by taken them out a few minutes before eating.
Given those ingredients– at least assuming you’re using the kind of dates that are happy at room temperature, rather than the keep-refrigerated kind– the only danger of room temperature storage will be drying out (and thus having a less nice texture). The big danger for things like this is mold, and mold won’t grow if the water activity is low, as it is in dried fruit, nuts, and chocolate. Wrap well, and I’d really expect you’d be fine; these should pretty much keep indefinitely.
(That said, be cautious if you’re adding liquid flavorings, fresh fruit, or anything else remotely wet.)
Any idea what an approximate cost per bar/for a batch might be for these? Almonds are certainly pricey around here, so I’m just curious. Looks delicious!