Fruit & Nut Snack Bars

Finding a snack bar that doesn’t have a bunch of unrecognizable ingredients, added sugar, or a soy extract of sorts is near impossible. And when you do find something… they’re expensive! With a simple recipe, you can make easy, no bake snack bars right at home and save money, too.

This recipe uses Medjool Dates as the base. These dates originate from the Middle East and North Africa, a staple in Middle Eastern cuisine, and are known for being plump and moist. They provide a natural sweetness and hold the other ingredients together without any syrups.

If you plan on making lots of these bars, I highly recommend buying your dates from other Costco or other bulk retailer!

The basic recipe goes like this:

  • 1 cup pitted Medjool dates
  • 1 cup nuts
  • 1 cup fruit

And then, you can add extra goodies: ground flax seed, chia, coconut, unsweetened cocoa powder, peanut butter and much more!

 

Today I made two recipes to share with you, but the combinations are endless!

CHOCOLATE-Blueberry-Cashew

  • 1 cup pitted Medjool dates
  • 1 cup dried, unsweetened blueberries
  • 1 cup cashews, roughly chopped
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds
  • 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Cherry-Almond-Coconut

  • 1 and 1/4 cups pitted Medjool dates (a few extra dates to compensate for the coconut)
  • 1 cup unsweeted dried cherries
  • 1 cup slices almonds
  • 2 tbsp ground flax seed
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (omit if coconut is not for you!)

Utensils:

  • Food processor
  • Mixing bowl
  • Baking pan
  • Rolling pin
  • Parchment or wax paper

Directions:

1. Put dates into the food processor and blend until they form a sticky ball

2. Move dates into mixing bowl and add additional ingredients

3. Knead mixture with your hands until completely mixed. This takes some bit of work, but with a little patience, the dates should be able to bind all the ingredients together. Note: I like the crunch of the coarsely chopped nuts. However, if you like the nuts more blended you can add them in with the dates in the beginning and make a creamy, nutty paste.

4. Line a baking sheet with the parchment or wax paper and tear off another piece about the same size.

5. Place the stick nut-fruit-date ball and place it on the baking sheet. Place the sheet of parchment or wax paper on top of the ball and start to flatten it.

6. Then, using your rolling pin, roll out the ball into a 1/2 inch thick slab. I like the form the slab as I go to create a rectangle… roll a little, shape a little, roll a little, and so on.

7. Put the baking sheet in the freeze for 10-15 minutes to harden the slab.

8. Remove from freezer and cut into 6 bars.

9. The bars can either be stored in Tupperware with a piece of wax paper in between each bar, or wrapped individual (for easy, on-the-go access).

ENJOY!!

XO,
Kate

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