Like I mentioned in the previous post, Michael and I went on a trip to San Francisco. Since we were going with the students and didn't have too much free time to go out on our own, we weren't sure if we'd be able to get decent meals. In preparation for the trip, I made two different kinds of date bars: key lime pie and cinnamon roll. They were filling and delicious and we ate ALL of them on the trip. I can't wait to make more.
Key Lime Pie Date Bars
Makes 6 large bars
Ingredients:
1 package dates, pitted (I used a .6lb. package which contained around 45 dates)
3/4 c. raw cashews
3/4 c. raw almonds
3/4 c. unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tbsp. lime juice
Instructions:
- Toss all ingredients into your food processor. Make sure to scrape the sides down every so often to get every bit of nut mixed in.
- Using a wet spatula, spread your mixture into a small rectangular pan. My pan is a weird shape -- I think it measures out to be 10" x 6". Feel free to use whatever size pan you'd like but keep in mind yours may be thinner or thicker than mine depending on pan choice.
- Refrigerate for a couple hours or until your mixture hardens just a tad bit.
- After you refrigerate, cut into 6 equal size bars.
- Individually wrap each bar in plastic wrap. Store in refrigerator if you can until use. If you don't have access to a refrigerator, like I didn't, just store them all in a bag together so they don't accidently fall out of the wrapping in your purse :).
Cinnamon Roll Date Bars
Makes 6 large bars
Ingredients:
1 package dates, pitted (I used a .6lb. package which contained around 45 dates)
3/4 c. raw pecans
3/4 c. raw almonds
1/4 c. raw cashews
1/2 c. raisins
2 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions:
- Do everything the same as the key lime pie bars. Toss all your ingredients into your food processor.
- Spread, refrigerate, cut, and individually wrap. Unfortunately I didn't get too many photos of the cinnamon roll kind.
Yeah! I just love these things. I've made them before but never took any photos or measurements. If I could, I would change one thing about one of these recipes. I would use less lime juice and add in actual lime zest into the key lime pie bars. They're a bit more moist then the cinnamon roll bars, making them much harder to get out of the pan. That doesn't make them any less delicious, though!
I am actually excited to experiment some more and possibly make some carrot cake ones today. These are a much healthier and cheaper than, say, granola bars or Larabars. You can put all natural ingredients into your bars and actually KNOW what's in them. I also love customizing my food rather than just buying what's available. They're super easy to throw into a lunch bag or to eat one for breakfast. I really hope someone makes these so they can be as ecstatic as I am! I just love food!
