three homemade lara bar recipes

So, here’s how it all went down. Wednesday, I made a batch of homemade Lara bars, sampled a small piece and thought the recipe was good. My husband comes home, bites off a big chunk and promptly expells it into the sink. I look at him like “Why in the world did you do that?” and, as he’s hanging over the sink, he shoots back a glare like “Are you trying to kill me?”

Upon investigation, the dates I used weren’t pitted. Oops. Regardless, I couldn’t stop laughing at my mistake because his face was priceless.

Thank goodness the final product was well worth the possibility of a cracked tooth–easy for me to say, I know.

I came up with three different flavors based on the ingredients in the pantry: Coconut Cashew, Chocolate Cashew and Mocha. In the future, I want to try my hand at some fruit flavors, but we had no dried fruit in the house.

In my humble opinion, the one ingredient that sets these bars apart from Lara bars is the addition of salt. If Lara bars contained just a dash of salt to offset the sweetness of the dates, I’d be broke from likely chowing down on a couple a day.

I had a couple friends taste test these bars (and one friend who swears he hates Lara bars) and mine were very well received. Despite being a chocolate lover, my favorite flavor of the three is the Coconut Cashew. I plan to do some experimenting in the future, but this could make for a delicious paleo crust for an apple or pumpkin pie.

Creating these homemade bars is quite easy, even for self-proclaimed non-bakers out there. Simply, process all ingredients in a food processor until you get the texture you desire. Then, empty out onto wax paper and shape to your liking. I prefer to shape into approximately the size of a loaf pan, then use a pizza cutter to slice.

Coconut Cashew Bars

• 15 medjool dates, PITTED!
• 3/4 cup almond meal
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes
• 1 tbsp flax seeds
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extra
• up to 1/4 tsp sea salt

Chocolate Cashew Bars

• 12 medjool dates, PITTED!
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/3 cup cashews
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 tbsp flax seeds
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• up to 1/4 tsp sea salt

Mocha Bars

• 15 medjool dates, PITTED!
• 1 cup almond meal
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup coffee beans
• 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1 tbsp flax seeds
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• up to 1/4 tsp sea salt