Chocolate Coconut Bars

These Chocolate Coconut Bars are my take on a Larabar.  They have become a favorite around our house.  I love them, and my kids love them.  (They think they're chocolate dipped granola bars and there is no way I'm going to tell them differently.)  

These bars are sugar-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, preservative-free.  They're a great source of fiber and healthy fats.  They also have some protein going on which makes them a great snack or a healthy quick on-the-go meal when you're short on time.

Chocolate Coconut Bars

1 cup nuts

(cashews, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, etc)

1 cup dates, pitted

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

2-4 tablespoons cacao or cocoa powder

1 tablespoon coconut oil

Place nuts and dates into a food processor or heavy-duty blender.  Blend, occasionally scraping down sides, until it forms a dough and starts to stick together.  Add shredded coconut, cacao powder and oil.  Pulse until everything is incorporated.  DO NOT OVER-MIX.  Dump dough onto parchment paper.  Form into 1-1/2 inch by 5 inch bars.  Wrap each bar in wax or parchment paper.  Store bars in an air tight container in the fridge.

STEP-BY-STEP

 Place 1 cup nuts 

I'm using cashews

 and 1 cup pitted dates into a food processor or heavy-duty blender.

(That equals to be about 10-11 dates)

 To remove the pit, simply cut them in half

 and pull the pit out.  

 Do not try mixing them with the pits still in.  It will do bad things to your machine.  Not that I would know or anything.

 Blend

 occasionally scrape down the sides so everything chops uniformly.

 Keep scraping and blending until it forms a dough and starts to stick together.

 Now add cacao or cocoa powder

 unsweetened shredded coconut and coconut oil.  Blend just until everything is incorporated.

Be careful not to over-mix or everything will turn to butter.

(Don't ask me how I know that either.)

 Form into bars.  Technically you can do them however big or small you would like.  Mine were about 1-1/2 inches wide by 5 inches long.

 Wrap in parchment or wax paper and store in an air tight container in the fridge.