Very Cherry Bars (use as a template for almost any combination) Lara Bars copyca

[Guest guest]

I found these on the net. I found Lara Bars before one of my trips to see mom.

They are so handy to have with me traveling and I'm not tempted to just grab

something not good for me.They are just pretty pricey so thought there should be

a recipe somewhere.And there was!I used cranberries and raisins cause that is

what I had.They came out pretty good.

The site I found these on is enlightenedcooking.blogspot.com

Thanks everyone for all the great recipes you share!

 

 

Very Cherry Bars (use as a template for almost any combination)

 

 

 

1/4 cup chopped dates (roughly chopped whole dates, not pre-chopped)

1/4 cup dried cherries or dried cranberries

1/3 cup whole pecans, almonds or walnuts

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

 

Set out two pieces of plastic wrap for shaping and wrapping the bars. Do this

first; you'll have sticky fingers when you need it.

 

Place the dates and cherries in a food processor. Pulse until processed to a

paste (photo 1). Transfer paste to a medium bowl (don't clean processor).

 

Add the nuts to the processor and pulse until finely chopped (photo 2). Add the

nuts, along with the cinnamon, to the bowl with the fruit paste (photo 3). Use

your fingers to knead the nuts into the paste (just keep squishing, it's fun;

brings back memories of play-dough; see photo 4).

..

Divide mixture in half. Place each half on each of one of the sheets of plastic

wrap. Wrap the plastic around each bar and start squishing into a bar shape

form, 3 and 1/2 inches long, 1 inch wide and 3/4-inch thick); press against

countertop to flatten bottom side, flattening top side and ends with flat of

hand (photo 5) Tightly wrap the plastic around each bar and store in the

refrigerator. Makes 2 bars.

..

Nutrition per Serving (1 bar): Calories 207; Fat 9.4 g (sat .8g, mono 5.2g, poly

3.1g); Protein 3.9g; Cholesterol 0mg; Carbohydrate 24.9g; Sodium 0.4mg. (Note: I

did the nutrition analysis using Diet Analysis Plus 7.0.1)

 

A Few Ideas for Variations:

 

Apricot-Almond: Use 6 tablespoons coarsely chopped dried apricots and 2

tablespoons date (to measure 1/2 cup total); use almonds for the nuts.

 

Tropical: Use tropical fruit bits (these come pre-packaged at the supermarket);

use raw cashews for the nuts. Add 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon

finely grated lime zest, and 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice to the mix.

 

PB & J (cheap and delicious!): Use 1/4 cup dried cherries or cranberries and 1/4

cup raisins or dates; use raw or roasted peanuts (lightly salted or unsalted)

for the nuts.

 

Blueberry Bliss: Use 1/4 cup dried blueberries and 1/4 cup dates; use almonds

for the nuts. Add 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, and a drop of almond

extract to the mix.

 

Cashew Cookie Dough: Reverse the proportions of fruit to nuts--Use 1/3 cup dates

for the fruit and 1/2 cup raw cashews for the nuts.

 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: Same as cashew cookie dough, but add 1/2 teaspoon

vanilla extract, pinch of cinnamon and 1/2 ounce very finely chopped semisweet

or bittersweet chocolate to the mix.

 

Pistachio Heaven: Same as cashew cookie dough, but use raw pistachios and add a

tiny drop of almond extract.

 

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough: Same as cashew cookie dough but use raw or roasted

(lightly salted) peanuts for the nuts.

[Guest guest]

thx!