Homemade Larabars

Top Left: Cinnamon Kraisin Pie
Top Right: Cashew Cookie
Bottom Left: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip

I will say this...walking through the grocery store, I always avoid the energy bar aisle. They are usually $1 per bar, they do nothing to satisfy the hunger within me, so the value for money is low. That and the fact that most snack bars contain corn syrup, chemicals, preservatives, and other weird things I can't pronounce. It just weirds me out. I am not an astronaut, I am not a futurist, I am not in the military, what business do I have compacting my meal into a bar? Well, I listened to a podcast on how Larabar was created, and it was so simple I couldn't avoid making these. I mean, the entire three or so ingredients are literally listed on the box...and that's the point. Simplicity. Think Occam's razor: the simplest solution is most likely the right one. 

But first, an inspirational blurb. Lara is the name of the creator. She was very active and addicted to sugar growing up. One day as she was traipsing unnecessarily along a mountain trail, she thought to herself, "Why hasn't somebody made something made of fruit, nuts and spices, made of pure, simple, real foods, that's portable and convenient, but tastes indulgent like you shouldn't be eating it, like junk food?" I don't know, maybe the trail mix was too much for her to handle. I usually spill half the trail mix in my lap or on the ground as I'm traversing. It is not the easiest thing to get in the mouth while exercising. I'm just speculating what she thought at this point. Anyway, she came up with the idea and then she quit her social worker job to work for Whole Foods. That's right, she was a humble shelf stocker, in the nutrition department. Passions over stability, people. But don't get it twisted! She was doing recon. She was studying the market up close, intimately. 
 

Something we don't really think about is how to experiment with raw ingredients. Instead of studying which foods would naturally add sweetness, tanginess, and spice, we buy things like refined sugar, condiments, and pre-made foods in packets and jars. And yes, it can be more convenient and brilliant. I am open to shortcuts. But I think tasty wholesome food is even more rewarding, and you learn way more recipes at a faster rate when you learn how to use raw ingredients, which is very helpful in the tiny kitchen. So give this recipe a try!

Here are some materials you'll need (bold are necessary, the rest are optional):

1) Unsalted Cashews

2) Medjool Dates

3) Salt

3) Peanut Butter (or peanuts)

4) Chocolate chips

5) Kraisins

6) Cinnamon

7) Knife

8) Cutting Board

9) Food processor or blender

10) Baking sheet or plate

11) Parchment Paper

12) Rubber spatula

13) Freezer

Just as a warning, these ingredients can get expensive. Make sure to keep the date cost down to about $5 a bag to make these worth it. Cashews are always going to be on the expensive side, so after you've tried this once, I'm sure you'll find alternative nuts that suit your budget more, such as peanuts or almonds. In my little kitchen, I do not have a food processor. If you have one, all the power to you. If you do not, I pray you have a blender. If you do not have a blender, your chopping skills will have to be on point. 

Alright, so my method for the most basic Larabar, a two-ingredient recipe, Cashew Cookie: 

Take about 5 dates and cut out the seed in the middle. Chop the de-nutted dates into little pieces. Chop about a handful of cashews into little pieces as well. You can skip this chopping step if you have the food processor (but don't forget to de-nut the dates). The chopping will save your blender multiple times over. Only you know the power of your blender, so keep that in mind when cutting the right size pieces. This recipe does not use liquids, so that means the blender will be struggling to make contact with the solids. I place the cashews and the dates in the blender, sprinkle in some salt (oops a third ingredient), and using the "Pulse" or "Ice" option, pulse the ingredients until the blades stop making contact with the food. Open the lid, stir around, and continue pulsing. Do this over and over again until you only have little chunks of food. As you can see in the picture, there are still nut and fruit pieces. When you remove the dough from the blender, it should all stick together into a ball, which you can place on a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper (or just put on a plate). Use a rubber spatula (or spoon) to flatten the dough into a rectangular shape about 1/4" thick. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes to firm up. Remove from the freezer and cut into bars. As you can see from my picture, I was able to make 6 bars per batch. Place bars into a plastic bag and keep in pantry at room temp. Think about it, the dates and cashews are normally kept at room temperature for long periods of time, so however long you'd store dates for, that's how long these last, which is why Lara is a genius. Of course, you can keep in the fridge if you are freaked out, but they will start to take on that icky refrigerated flavor. 

I love peanut butter chocolate chip energy shakes and bars, so I also tried the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabar:

Follow the above recipe with the dates, cashews, and salt, but also add a scoop of peanut butter to the blender. You can use peanuts in place of the cashews if you'd like. The dates are essential because they add sweetness and bind the bars together. Once you are done pulsing to create a single mass, begin flattening on the baking sheet, but also sprinkle chocolate chips on top and continue flattening into the rectangular shape. Freeze for 30 minutes and then cut into bars!

I wanted to have a bit of fun with the recipe, so I created my own. She has other fun things like cherry pie and apple pie, I didn't have any fruit at the moment, but I had Kraisins, so I created Cinnamon Kraisin Pie. I followed the Cashew Cookie recipe, but also added Kraisins and lightly sprinkled some cinnamon in before pulsing together. These were honestly my favorite....the Kraisins blend in to the dates and the cinnamon gives it a true dessert taste. 

Okay, so in 3 batches based on my "handful" method, you should be able to get 6 bars (or 5 skinny, long bars) per batch, giving you a yield of 15-18 bars, which should cost you $15-18. Let's say you paid $5 for a bag of dates, $5 for a half pound of cashews, and added the extra ingredient costs. You probably end up with the SAME it would have cost you to buy the Larabars from the store. So I learned a valuable lesson here. Larabars are indeed good and true value for money. So life lesson #4: don't feel guilty about just buying the bars instead of making your own. They buy these ingredients in bulk for cheaper per pound, so they can still make money. Everyone wins. However. My homemade bars were tastier than the store-bought bars, probably because they were made fresh, and also because I could tweak the recipe to satisfy my personal tastebuds. My boyfriend would also argue that I added one ingredient not supplied at the store: love. 

Give it a try. It will leave you feeling satisfied, especially if you crave something sweet. More importantly, it will teach you about the magic of dates: a natural binder and sweetener. Exercise your taste buds and continue with me on this gourmet culinary journey. 

Baby Alternative:

I swapped out the dates for dried prunes, and walnuts for cashews, and they were a hit with my one year old! She needs prunes in her diet, but doesn't eat them on their own, so this way she eats it in bar form, getting protein from the nuts too. I used the Cinnamon Kraisin Pie recipe.