homemade larabars? Anyone?

I tried making homemade Larabars from a recipe that I got off of a raw food site.  I am having trouble having the concoction stick together so that I can cut it into individual bars.  Since Larabars have only 3-4 ingredients, I thought this would be easy but apparently I am not getting the amount of each ingredient correct.

Anyone ever attempted this?  Any ideas for having the stuff stick together?  Oats maybe?  I read another recipe that used prune puree and still another that used bananas. 

Hi!  I agree, it is difficult to get these type of things to stick together. Without using some corn syrup or brown rice syrup, the only way I have found is to use the food processor. If you pulse everything together, letting the dried fruit break up and act as the "glue" you will have better luck. Whole dates seem to work the best, but you still have to form them into tight balls or bars with your hands or they get crumbly. Sometimes I add a teensy bit of water and the fruit seems to suck it up after the balls are formed.

Sometimes I use nut butters instead of whole or chopped nuts, which helps.  Storing them in the fridge also helps. 

Good luck!

Hi!  I agree, it is difficult to get these type of things to stick together. Without using some corn syrup or brown rice syrup, the only way I have found is to use the food processor. If you pulse everything together, letting the dried fruit break up and act as the "glue" you will have better luck. Whole dates seem to work the best, but you still have to form them into tight balls or bars with your hands or they get crumbly. Sometimes I add a teensy bit of water and the fruit seems to suck it up after the balls are formed.

Sometimes I use nut butters instead of whole or chopped nuts, which helps.  Storing them in the fridge also helps. 

Good luck!

Well, usually I use about 1 oz. of dates (run through the food processor like paste) and about 3/4 oz. of nuts. It depends on what Lara Bar you're making. I've pretty much made copies of all the different types, and I've experimented with amounts and nutritional information to get the right match (if the nutrition facts are the same, the ingredient amounts are probobly pretty close too).

if the nutrition facts are the same, the ingredient amounts are probobly pretty close too

Wow, another person who pays attention to these things.  I have put several items missing from the Foods database  in as recipes.  The ingredients come from the ingredients label, and I do remember larabars are high in dates (first ingredient, I believe).  I think water is missing as an ingredient for many things, because sometimes I can nail the nutrition data in all areas except weight, and adding water accomplishes increasing the weight without changing the nutrition data.  Also remember the nutrition data are rounded, so often a zero value is not a zero but rounded or nutritionally defined as zero.  There is a commercial which correctly states "zero trans fats!" is not really zero, but less than 0.5 g.

Here's my recipe when I tried to recreate Clif Nectar bars (VERY similar to Larabars). I found they weren't as 'hard' as the real deal, but very tasty. Next time I would try boiling off more water to make them harder....

Faux-Nectar Bar Squares - Chocolate-Walnut-Almond Recipe
Submitted by hkd_bear

Makes 16 servings

My version of Clif NECTAR Cocoa Bars

Your tags - dessert, bar Ingredients

225 g dates, pitted, chopped 9087

38 g walnuts, chopped

66 g almonds, chopped

45 g dark chocolate 111737

10 g cocoa 19165

5 g vanilla (1 tsp) 80616

Directions

1. Chop dates. Boil in 1 cup water uncovered. Simmer for 5 minutes.
   
   
2. Puree in food processor.
   
   
3. Transfer back to pan over heat for 5 minutes,and stir in chocolate until melted.
   
   
4. Stir in nuts, cocoa and vanilla.
   
   
5. Puree again in food processor.
   
   
6. Heat again to boil off moisture until nearly too thick to stir.
   
   
7. Spread in 9" square pan and cool in refrigerator over night.
   
   

Categories

Snacks

Nutrition Facts Serving Size 24.3g
Amount Per Serving Calories 85 Calories from Fat 35 % Daily Value* Total Fat 3.9g 6% Saturated Fat 0.4g 2% Cholesterol 0mg 0% Sodium 0mg 0% Total Carbohydrates 12.5g 4% Dietary Fiber 2.1g 8% Sugars 9.4g Protein 1.9g
Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 0% Calcium 2% • Iron 2% * Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional details are an estimate and should only be used as a guide for approximation. Legend

Fat
Protein
Carbs
Alcohol
Other

Calorie Breakdown (?)

Daily Values (?)

Nutritional Analysis Nutrition Grade
96% confidence
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