Catfish Out of Water

I used to make date power bars all of the time! Just 2 simple ingredients, dates and nuts, plus any kind of flavoring that you want. And voila! A quick and easy power bar without all of the added sugars and fillers of store-bought versions. All that you need is a food processor. Today, I decided to make Power Bars w/ Dates and Lemon and Power Bars w/ Dates and Chocolate. These chocolate date bars combine just a little bit of coconut oil and cocoa powder.

You could easily use chocolate chips, instead. But cocoa powder tends to have less sugar and the coconut oil helps to reconstitute it in order to avoid the chalkiness that can come from adding powders. I also am rather fond of coconut and enjoy the taste! If that isn't your cup of tea, adding water, instead, works just as well.

Inspired by Leitres Culinaria’s version of Homemade Larabars.

Gallery

Variations of Chocolate Date Bars

Date power bars are my new favorite snack. They're great for a meal substitute on the go when you're on the run and just need something to tide you over! I'm not one for just eating a bar of chocolate and calling it good. The blood sugar spike and crash isn't worth it! There is sugar in dates, as their are in most fruits, but natural sugars don't have the same effects as artificial sweeteners. Although there are certainly other snacks to make along for something quick on the go.

Roasted Calabaza Squash Seeds

Power Bars w/ Dates & Lemon

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Power Bars w/ Dates & Chocolate

I don't know why power bars are basically code word for candy bars wrapped in "health food" packaging. These chocolate date bars, on the other hand, are a fun and easy way to make power bars with no added sugar or artificial ingredients. Just dates, nuts, coconut oil, and cocoa powder. Feel free to mix and match in your own flavors and your favorite nut varieties. But I'm particularly fond of this chocolate variation! And also have a great lemon variation.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Course Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 8 bars

Equipment

• Food Processor
• Parchment Paper or Oil (optional)
• Small Baking Dish or Loaf Pan (preferably glass or ceramic)

Ingredients

  

• 1 ¼ c. dates
• 1/2 c. raw almonds
• 1/2 c. raw walnuts
• 2 tsp. cocoa powder
• 2 tsp. coconut oil

Instructions

 

• Lightly coat your baking dish with oil or line it with parchment paper.

  If you're using a glass or nonstick baking dish, you can skip this step. If the bars are thick enough, they should come out relatively easily. Otherwise, a little oil or parchment paper definitely helps.
• Put dates, almonds, walnuts, and cocoa powder in a food processor. Pulse for 30 seconds, or until the dates and nuts start to stick together.

  It’s best to air on the side of caution and don’t over beat it, though! If you process the bars too little they’ll have more chunks, but if you process them too much they’ll look more like peanut butter than power bars. I personally would rather have more chunks than peanut peanut. But it’s all personal preference!
• Add coconut oil and pulse for 15 seconds, or until barely combined.
• Spread the mixture evenly into the baking dish and refrigerate for at least an hour.

  You can speed this up by placing the dish in the freezer. If you're having trouble getting it cleanly out of the container, freezing can help as well.
• Cut into roughly 6-9 bars.

Tips, Tricks, & Notes

• I would recommend refrigerating the bars until you're ready to eat them. However, there isn't anything particularly perishable about dates because they're already dried and aren't usually refrigerated! So, they’re more likely to go stale before they go bad.