Homemade Lara-like Fruit & Nut Bar – Cashew Cookie Flavor

These homemade fruit and nut bars were inspired by my love for the cashew-cookie flavored LaraBar. They are the perfect snack to take with you on a hike or bike ride or to satisfy a mid-day sweet tooth

Author: Heather Mangieri, RDN

Ingredients

1 cup cashews, salted halves or pieces
32 each dates (~240 grams)

Instructions

Put the dates in a food processor, and blend until it becomes a paste. Transfer the paste to a bowl.
Put the cashews in a food processor and pulse until they are chopped very small (you do not want to over-blend or you will end up with cashew butter. You want there to still be small pieces of nuts for some texture.
Add the nuts to the dates and use your fingers to blend them together. You can also combine them in the food processor and pulse a few times until they are combined.
Line the bottom of an 8X8 pan with a piece of Parchment paper, then spread the mixture in the pan. Make sure to press firmly and evenly, so that each bar is the same size. Transfer to the refrigerate to harden for at least 30 minutes
Using a sharp knife, cut into 6 even bars. Remove the bars one at a time, and place on a separate piece of Parchment paper. The bars will be sticky, so you'll need to use your hands to form each one into a 3” X 1.5” bar. Once they are formed into bars, wrap each one individually in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.

Notes

Recipe Makes: 6 bars
Serving Size: 1 Bar
Nutrition Facts (per bar): 240 calories, 38 g carbohydrates, 4 g fiber, 29 g sugar, 0 g added sugar, 10 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 5 g protein, 65 mg sodium, 10% DV iron.
Meal Planning Serving Sizes: 2.5 CHO; 0.5 PRO; 2 FAT