If you like LaraBars, you'll love these! I picked up a LaraBar on that disastrous shopping trip and noticed that it only had 5 ingredients: dates, almonds, walnuts, unsweetened cocoa, and coconuts. As I read the ingredient list and thought, Why am I spending $1-something on this one bar when it looks like I could easily make this at home? as well as What do dates look like and where would I find them in this store?, I glanced down and happened to notice a bulk bin labeled, "Dates."
When we got home, I googled "homemade LaraBars" and found this page: Fudge Babies. I changed that recipe just a little bit by adding walnuts and rolling the "babies" in coconut as the final step.
Ingredients:
-1 cup chopped walnuts and/or almonds (I used about 1/2 and 1/2)
-1 1/3 cup pitted dates
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-3-4 tablespoons cocoa powder
-Shredded coconut to taste
The most difficult step is taking the pits out of the dates.
After that, just put everything into a food processor and process away.
It may seem a little too dry, but it's actually just right for forming into balls and then rolling in coconut.
You really won't believe how delicious they are even without any sugar!
They are full of nutrition, too: omega-3 fatty acids in the walnuts, heart-disease-lowering power in the almonds, and antioxidants in the cocoa.
Tempting + healthy = perfect :)
I make "lara bars" all the time. My poor food processor is not chopping the nuts so well any more. I laughed about your cockroach comment. That's what my oldest daughter says!
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