Homemade Larabars

I love when I look at an ingredient list and know exactly what everything is. Sometimes, if I am in a rush and have no time to stop at home to cook, I’ll buy a Larabar. Larabars always have dates, some sort of nuts or other dried fruits, and that’s it for their ingredients. Larabars are small bars that come in many cool flavors, but they are about $2 a bar. They are not cheap…so I was excited when my friend, Julia, told me that she made homemade Larabars! It only took me two days to follow suit, and I loved the results! I got my inspiration from:
http://enlightenedcooking.blogspot.com/2008/02/home-made-lara-bars-energy-bars-part-3.html

Out of all the choices, I chose to make the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. If someone can make something that tastes like chocolate chip cookie dough AND is healthy then I’m all in! For those of you that insist that you are not cooks, this does not take much cooking skills at all.

First, I threw a cup of cashews in a food processor and ground up pretty fine. Then I took 10 dates (take the pits out!) and processed that until it resembled a paste…. then I processed about 2 tablespoons dark chocolate chips. I mixed all three processed things plus a splash of vanilla and smushed everything together with my hands and pushed into a loaf pan and flattened it so it’s about ½ inch thick. Put in the fridge for a bit (30 min) and then cut them up into bars. I wrapped each bar in plastic wrap and keep them stored in the fridge.

It’s SO easy, and the results taste just like chocolate chip cookie dough I swear! I’m so happy about this, because I can stash a healthy snack in my purse that tastes like it should be baked into chocolate chip cookies.