Gastronomer

DIY Energy Bars

 

I have to admit I am new to the energy bar love.  These no bake energy bars are simple to make and can be combined with many differnìent flavors to make them truly your own,

 

Ingredients

 

1 cup nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, almonds etc)

1 cup dried fruit ( cherry, cranberries, mango, apricot etc)

1 cup (12-15 whole) pitted dried dates

 

Directions

 

• Combine all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse a few times just to break them up. Separate the dates if they start to clump together.

• Pulse continuously for 30 seconds. By this point, the ingredients should all have broken down into crumb-sized pieces. Scrape the edges of the bowl and beneath the blade to make sure nothing is sticking.

• Process the mixture continuously until it forms a ball, generally 1-2 minutes. Continue processing for another 1-2 minutes, until the ingredients clump together and gather into a ball.

• Lay a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper on your work surface and dump the power bar dough on top. Press the dough with your hands until it forms a thick square, roughly 8" x 8" in size. Wrap and chill for at least an hour or overnight.

• Unwrap the chilled power bar dough and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 8 large bars Wrap each bar in plastic wrap or wax paper.

• Store the bars in the fridge for several weeks or in the freezer for up to three months. The bars can be eaten straight from the fridge or freezer and will be firm, but chewy. Room-temperature bars can be kept in a lunch bag or backpack all day, but will be more soft and paste-like.