This super uncomplicated recipe for wholesome date bars with chocolate requires just ten minutes of prep time and has no added sugar. It’s a homemade Lara Bar recipe with just 5 organic components. It’s the excellent wholesome snack or dessert!
If you are like me, you most likely really like Larabars. They’re such a sweet and scrumptious snack, are generally a huge hit with children, and can double as a wholesome dessert! The very first time I attempted them, I was wowed! They have been a healthier take on so quite a few other granola bars on the marketplace.
But, you might not really like spending about $2 per bar, and you may possibly want to customize it a tiny more beyond the original recipe or varieties you see on the grocery retailer shelves. Plus, some Larabars have a lot of sugar – even although it is from fruit – it can nonetheless add up!
That’s exactly where this recipe comes in! This homemade date bar recipe is super uncomplicated to make, demands pretty handful of components, and is decrease in sugar than standard, old fashioned date bars. They also retailer definitely properly, taste like a chocolate cookie, and are excellent for satisfying cravings.
These wholesome date cookie bars are a wonderful recipe for these busy days when you will need an uncomplicated afternoon snack, or want a wholesome dessert!
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👩🏽🍳 Why This Recipe Works
- Vegan and Gluten-Free
- No bake date bar recipe!
- Healthier date bars than the standard version (but tastes just as wonderful!)
- Simple single layer recipe (no bottom crust, date filling, or leading crust).
- Golden Brown Finish devoid of getting baked!
- Great snack bars!
- Flourless: No all objective flour, entire wheat flour, or even oat flour required!
- No refined sugar: No brown sugar, or powdered sugar like so quite a few other recipes!
🥘 Ingredients
Dry Ingredients: Unsweetened cocoa powder, macadamia nuts, and a tiny bit of sea salt.
Wet Ingredients: Medjool dates (pitted dates will save you time), and cashew butter are used to hold the components with each other. If you do not have cashew butter, any nut butter would work. Soak the medjool dates in warm water for 10 minutes, and drain to support infuse them with more moisture. They also provide organic sweetness to this date square recipe!
🍽 Equipment
🔪 Instructions
Step 1: Place dates and rest of the components in a substantial bowl. Stir to combine. Then transfer all of the components into the bowl of a meals processor to develop the date mixture. Blend on higher till the components kind a date filling with coarse crumbs.
Step 2: In a square baking pan (8×8 or 9×9-inch pan) lined with parchment paper, press the dough into the bottom of the ready pan. This is a a uncomplicated one particular layer bar – so this is the only step you will need! Chill in the fridge for 2 hours to set.
Step 3: Cut into 6 equal date squares and serve. After they have been chilled you can maintain them stored at space temperature for 3-4 days in an airtight container or wrap with plastic wrap. If you want smaller sized portions, really feel cost-free to reduce these no-bake granola bars into smaller sized pieces! You can effortlessly turn this into 12 tiny squares vs. 6!
❓Recipe FAQs
The answer is: It depends! Sometimes date bars are loaded with sugar and fat, and are more like a dessert than a wholesome treat. But this scrumptious recipe is packed with overall health added benefits.
Here’s what tends to make these bars so superior for you!
1) Vitamins and Nutrients: Macadamia nuts are heart wholesome and a superior supply of dietary fiber, protein, manganese and copper. Almonds are higher in fiber, protein, Vitamin E and Magnesium. And dates include calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and zinc!
2) Healthy Fats: Nuts are a wonderful supply of heart wholesome fats, given that most of the fat in nuts is a mixture of Omega 3 fats and monounsaturated fat.
3) No Added Sugar: These wholesome date bars are naturally sweet thanks to the dates, and call for no added sugars to make them really feel like a decadent dessert.
My children believed they have been consuming a chocolate brownie bar when they attempted this recipe. They loved the sweetness from the dates and the texture of the ground up nuts! This is a wonderful healthier sugar cost-free snack solution for picky children who have a sweet tooth as properly!
I like employing Medjool dates since they are the easiest to obtain, and are often super soft and sweet! Although I’m confident any dates would work in this recipe for wholesome date bars!
Larabars are created with just nuts and fruit, but taste like dessert. Because of that, they have a tendency to be fairly common with children and adults alike!
However, they can be pretty pricey, specially if you are consuming them on a common basis.
So why make homemade larabars rather of shopping for them?
1) Cheaper: By shopping for components in bulk, you can reduce down the price per bar fairly substantially compared to retailer purchased.
2) Healthier: Traditional Larabars have about 20g sugar per bar. While it is all organic sugar from the dates for the most component, that is nonetheless a lot of organic sugar to be consuming on a common basis! These bars have only about 10g organic sugar per bar, which tends to make them a substantially greater solution for a each day snack or dessert.
3) Customizable: Since the base of lara bars are just nuts + dates, you can add virtually something to this recipe to customize it for your family’s preferences!
📖 Variations
You can make these wholesome homemade granola bars in a assortment of diverse techniques!! These gluten cost-free date bars are so versatile and entertaining to customize!
- Cashew Cookie: Switch the macadamia nuts for cashews, use cashew or almond butter, and omit the cocoa powder.
- Dark Chocolate Brownie: Switch the macadamia nuts for almonds and add 1/2 cup walnuts and 1-2 tablespoons of 88% dark chocolate chunks (preferably from a dark chocolate bar vs. chocolate chips). To maintain these as vegan date bars, make confident your chocolate is dairy cost-free. You can also melt chocolate and drizzle it more than the leading of the bars!
- Apple Pie: Switch the macadamia nuts for pecans, add 1/4 cup walnuts, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and 1/2 cup dried apples. Omit the cocoa powder.
- Peanut Cookie: Switch the macadamia nuts for peanuts, and use peanut butter rather of almond butter. Omit the cocoa powder.
- Cookie Dough: Switch the macadamia nuts for peanuts or cashews, omit the cocoa powder, and add 1/8 cup mini chocolate chips.
- Pecan Pie: Switch the macadamia nuts for pecans and add 1/4 cup almonds. Omit the cocoa powder.
- PB&J: Switch the macadamia nuts for peanuts, omit the cocoa powder and add 1/8 cup dried raisins or cherries.
- Banana Bread: Switch the macadamia nuts for almonds, omit the cocoa powder, add in 1/2 cup walnuts and 1/2 cup dried bananas.
- White Chocolate: This is a super uncomplicated variation – make the recipe as is, then drizzle dairy cost-free white chocolate more than the leading of these date nut bars!
Notice a trend right here? Basically you can switch the macadamia nuts for any nut of decision, add in dried fruits as required, and omit the cocoa powder if you want one thing significantly less chocolatey!
You can also add any mixture of seeds to these no bake date bars: pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, ground chia seeds or sunflower seeds would all work properly.
👪 How to Serve
I delight in these with a cup of coffee in the morning, or a warm cup of tea in the afternoon for snack. Pack in your children college lunch as a wholesome treat, or take with you on the go for swift homemade snack!
💭 Expert Tips
- Feel cost-free to switch the nuts and add in dried fruits according to your taste preferences: any nuts, seeds and dried fruit will work properly in this recipe.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week, employing parchment paper to separate the bars. These power bars will not hold up properly if you freeze them.
- Add a tablespoon of lemon juice to support preserve them at space temperature a bit longer.
- Do not use chopped dates, given that they are ordinarily coated in sugar or cornstarch.
- Make confident to refrigerate for at least 2 hours prior to cutting them – but longer is even greater.
🍪 More Healthy Snacks And Sweet Treats!
📋 Recipe Card
No Bake, Vegan, Date Bars Recipe (Homemade Lara Bar)
Made with just 5 components, this no bake recipe for date bars has zero added sugar but is nonetheless amazingly sweet and decadent!
Servings: 6 bars
Calories: 167.8kcal
Add all of the components into a meals processor. Blend on higher till the components kind a smooth dough.
Press the dough into an 8×8 baking pan lined with parchment. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours to set. Cut into 6 equal rectangles and serve.
- Feel cost-free to switch the nuts and add in dried fruits according to your taste preferences: any nuts, seeds and dried fruit will work properly in this recipe.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week, employing parchment paper to separate the bars. These bars will not hold up properly if you freeze them.
- Do not use chopped dates, given that they are ordinarily coated in sugar or cornstarch.
- Make confident to refrigerate for at least 2 hours prior to cutting them – but longer is even greater.
- Cashew Cookie: Switch the macadamia nuts for cashews, use cashew or almond butter, and omit the cocoa powder.
- Dark Chocolate Brownie: Switch the macadamia nuts for almonds and add 1/2 cup walnuts and 1-2 tablespoons of 88% dark chocolate chunks (preferably from a dark chocolate bar vs. chocolate chips)
- Apple Pie: Switch the macadamia nuts for pecans, add 1/4 cup walnuts, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and 1/2 cup dried apples. Omit the cocoa powder.
- Peanut Cookie: Switch the macadamia nuts for peanuts, and use peanut butter rather of almond butter. Omit the cocoa powder.
- Cookie Dough: Switch the macadamia nuts for peanuts or cashews, omit the cocoa powder, and add 1/8 cup mini chocolate chips.
- Pecan Pie: Switch the macadamia nuts for pecans and add 1/4 cup almonds. Omit the cocoa powder.
- PB&J: Switch the macadamia nuts for peanuts, omit the cocoa powder and add 1/8 cup dried raisins or cherries.
- Banana Bread: Switch the macadamia nuts for almonds, omit the cocoa powder, add in 1/2 cup walnuts and 1/2 cup dried bananas.
Serving: 1bar | Calories: 167.8kcal | Carbohydrates: 16.6g | Protein: 2.7g | Fat: 11.9g | Saturated Fat: 1.9g | Sodium: 31.1mg | Potassium: 203.1mg | Fiber: 3.7g | Sugar: 10.5g
Originally published in pickyeaterblog.com
