Have you ever had a Larabar? If not, I highly recommend you grab a few next time you’re out. They’re both nutritious and delicious bars made from fruit and nuts and that’s it! A super convenient snack to have handy in your car, purse or diaper bag. There are a lot of homemade larabar recipes floating around and I haven’t found one that I just love! So naturally I decided to make up my own “bar.” I tried a few different ones, but this is my favorite and the one I keep going back to to make again and again.
Necessities:
½ cup hazelnuts
¼ cup cashews
¼ macadamia nuts
1 cup dry unsweetened coconut flakes
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons powdered egg whites (this ingredient can be omitted and will not affect the recipe. I like to add it in for extra protein)
½ dried unsweetened dark cherries
½ cup dried dates
1 cup warm water (for soaking dried fruit)
Wax Paper
Method:
Place cherries and dates in a bowl or measuring cup
and add warm water to soften fruit. Leave for 30 minutes then drain off the water.
In a food processor add hazelnuts, cashews, macadamia nuts, coconut and salt. Turn on your machine for 30 seconds or more if needed. You are looking for a coarse sand texture like the picture to the left.
Next add in the powder egg white (if you are using) and pulse 3 times to mix. Next add in the drained, softened fruit and turn on your machine for 30 seconds or more. You want the ingredients to come together as a consistent mixture.
Dump mixture onto a sheet of wax paper and cover with another sheet of wax paper. Next, use a rolling pin to roll to desired thickness, I recommend about ½ inch. I use a pizza cutter to cut my bars out and my kids and I eat the extra edges – an added bonus to helping mom in the kitchen!
Bars can be stored in an airtight container between layers of wax paper in the refrigerator for a week, but I doubt they’ll last that long 😉
I hope you try out my recipe! Feel free to tweak it to your taste (or to what you have in your pantry) by changing the types of nuts and dried fruits to make your own bar.