Oh, homemade Larabars. It’s been too long. Really though, I can’t say I’ve had a good reason to make energy bars. Let me tell you, my energy is in zero danger of plummeting any time soon. With all the recipe testing going down, my only challenge is trying not to pop the button off my pants from all this good food. The freezer is bursting at the seams; one wrong move and I’m pummeled in the face by a 10-pound solid chunk of homemade pasta sauce or chocolate pie. The last thing I need is an energy bar.
Eric, on the other hand, could use a portable snack. He plays in a volleyball league which meets for a few hours around dinnertime and he’s usually famished by the time he sits down to eat dinner at 9 or 10 pm. Since I can’t play in the league myself (I have a torn meniscus in my knee), I support him in the best way I know how – homemade snacks.
Of course, I enjoyed a couple bars (ok, ok and some dough!) – all in the name of taste-testing purposes of course. It’s amazing how much of an appetite I can work up hovering over a food processor. Tell me I’m not alone.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Energy Bars
Yield
10-12 servings
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
These are my take on the popular Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Larabars. Now you can make them at home for a fraction of the cost! I like to store them in the freezer so I have an energy bar ready whenever I need a pick me up. For thick squares, press the dough into a 9x5-inch loaf pan. For thinner bars, use an 8x8-inch square pan.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (230g) raw cashews
- 1 cup tightly packed pitted Medjool dates (190g)*
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 to 2 teaspoons water, if needed
- 1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 tablespoons mini non-dairy chocolate chips (regular size chips work too)
Directions
- Add cashews into a food processor and process for 3 to 4 seconds, until a coarse meal forms.
- Add in the pitted dates and vanilla. Process until the mixture comes together, for about 15 seconds, or longer if needed. The mixture should stick together easily when you squeeze it between your fingers. If it doesn’t stick or it’s still a bit crumbly, add a very small amount of water (1 teaspoon at a time) and process it again. I usually add between 1 to 2 teaspoons of water.
- Finally, add the salt, to taste, and the chocolate chips, and process briefly to combine.
- Line a loaf pan or an 8-inch square pan with a piece of parchment paper so that there's overhang to lift out the bars after freezing. Scoop the mixture into the pan and smooth out with your hand until it’s level. Push down firmly all over the mixture. The more you pack it down the better the bars will hold together. Roll out with a pastry roller if you have one.
- Freeze, uncovered, for at least 15 to 20 minutes and then slice into bars. For on-the-go, wrap bars in plastic wrap or tin foil and store in the fridge or freezer. I prefer these straight from the freezer. Most of all, hide from other members of the family!
Tip:
- *If your dates are stiff or dry, soak the dates in boiling water for 30 minutes before beginning. Drain well and quickly pat dry before use.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
If you are looking for another tasty energy bar/ball recipe, check out my Dark Chocolate Cherry Energy Bites. Love those!
What’s your favourite Larabar flavour of all time?
Just made these for the first time. Oh. My. Goodness. I only made a half-recipe, and am now kicking myself for my lack of faith….because I might eat the entire half all by myself, and there won’t be any left for my husband and sons! Thanks, Angela, this is wonderful. By the way, I took the lazy cook’s option and rolled these into balls, then rolled the balls in a mixture of cocoa and sugar. Am thinking of mixing a little ground chia into the next batch…
Could you put the carb and fiber count (any nutrition info)??
Thanks!
My wife sent me in search of a recipe for the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Lärabar.
We swore off of them ever since we heard her owners contributed half a million dollars to fight our right to know. Now my wife is pregnant and has been buying them against our better judgement for a few weeks now. Time to fight back, again.
Ok…For the record: these are WAY better than Lärabars…
omg just made these (double batch) & they are delicious!! its going to be hard to only eat 1 bar at a time!!
Do you think it would be possible to substitute the almond meal from your almond milk in place of the cashews here? I’m thinking of what to do with all that almond goo.
It definitely could work, although I would probably try and dry out the pulp a bit before using (try popping it into the oven at the lowest heat setting) until mostly dry
Oh… I LOVE this flavor of Lara bars! I buy the entire box at the store! And, I’m getting my new food processor tomorrow so was looking for this exact recipe! Thank you so much!
I’m getting the Magimix processor that is made in France (not China) but in the US is only sold apparently at Williams Sonoma.
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/magimix-4200xl-14-cup-food-processor/?cm_src=PIPRECENTVIEW
I had this one before and loved it… worth the money! And, I’m supporting non-Chinese industry. Love my Chinese friends but would prefer some industry to remain in Europe/North America!
do you store these in the freezer?
yup!
I added shredded coconut and organic cinnamon!
These are AMAZING!
Thank you!
I love this bar and many of your snacks. I make them all the time for my kids. But, my son is starting in JK this year and he has to pack no-nut alternatives. I don’t do soy and find the seed butters out of my price range, any ideas? You need to do a ‘school friendly vegan lunchbox’ post sometime! You know, no nuts, no fridge required, kid friendly ingredients and not so out there that the other kids will think his parents are hippies. I am happy to provide a taste tester with my 4yo son. :)
HI Angela,
For anyone interested, I made a “protein” version of this:
I added 1 1/2 scoops of raw vegan vanilla protein powder (Sun Warrior – Warrior blend), and it was delicious! Didn’t notice the protein powder, but felt better about eating these ;)
This recipe sounds delicious! Could I use cacao nibs instead of chocolate chips? I’m not sure if it would work the same. Thank you xx
easiest. recipe. ever.
absolutely delish :)
thanks for sharing
Thanks for sharing your recipe! I made these today, and they are delicious!
I just made these and they are delicious! Our local grocer sells blocks of pitted dates. Since they are fairly dry compared to Medjool dates I added a few teaspoons of water. I made them into balls instead of bars. Thanks for the recipe!
I made half a batch of these yesterday and they’re almost finished already. Yum!
I made these and brought them to work. At first my colleagues were skeptical so I offered them a bar and they loved it! I love how it’s delicious and sweet and yet healthy.
Daaaaamn are these good! I just made my first batch. For some reason I only got about 6 bars. But cry, cry, cry – I’ll just have to make more. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe!
Yumm made these lasts night. Dangerously delicious. Thank you.
I was drooling over the photos so skipped the part of soaking the dates and just added water to the last blend step. Warning! This resulted in a paste that would not form balls or bars. Even though, it was delicious!!! Way better than any larabar I’ve tried, thank u!
I was drooling over the photos so skipped the part of soaking the dates and just added water to the last blend step. Warning! This resulted in a paste that would not form balls or bars. Even though, it was delicious!!! Way better than any larabar I’ve tried, thank u!
If you use dried figs, they turn out wonderful and you don’t have to worry about pitting/soaking!
Hi Angela…made the chocolate chip cookie dough larabars for my son who was stopping by the house…you are a sweet genius…not only did they set up fast in the freezer, but they were way to yummy…glad I didn’t give them all away. I used a touch of honey to bring the meal all together instead of water…:)
I’m a long time larabar fan and just made this for this first time. These are even better than the packaged ones in my opinion – I couldn’t stop eating the mixture out of the food processor before they were even finished! Thank you so much for sharing! I’m currently trying out veganism after 2.5 years of being a pescetarian and your website has been a fabulous resource!
Ohhhhh my gosh… These were phenomenal. I used a mix of cashews, almonds, and pecans. Oh wow.. Even before the chocolate chips they were heavenly. Bonus: ALL 3 kids plus the neighbor kid liked them! That NEVER happens!!
This is my favorite kind of Larabar! I must say that this recipe is far better than the actual Larabar. It taste more like cookie dough. The original Larabar has a large date ratio compared to the other ingredients. Also I noticed that the chocolate chips in the Larabar has vanilla in it, but actually getting vegan chocolate chips and putting the vanilla extract individually with a pinch of salt (as in your recipe) makes a world of difference, so this recipe is perfect. Thank you!
It would also be fun to roll these into little balls and toss them into a vegan homemade ice cream. :)
These are great! I am recently grain free and still missing chocolate chip cookies. These really do taste like cookie dough! I was dubious because I have made the fruit varieties for breakfast and they are not at all like cookies. These amazed me. I had mine with a glass of milk for nostalgia and they were great! The best part is I could only eat 3 of the 22 pieces before I was full. That’s hardly any calories at all! (135 by my count)
My husband has not yet given up his after dinner cookies, but said these are BETTER!
I used 1\2 C walnuts because I like them in my cookies. I didn’t find them too datey, either.
Thank you for sharing!!
I just made these today and they are great. They really taste just like chocolate chip cookie dough, and I feel would satisfy any sweet craving. Mine did not hold together quite as nicely as I would have liked, but I think I should have soaked the dates, and I was too excited to get them made. Either way they’re a great treat. Also, I just tried vegan chocolate chips for the first time today and loved them. I bought the Enjoy LIfe mini chocolate chips a while back because they were the only mini chips I could find, and I hadn’t used them. Wow, I would not know they were vegan. Great recipe…again.
These were really delicious, but for practical purposes, I couldn’t get them to not fall apart. I am hoping the next go-round will be better. They really did taste like cookie dough!
Angela, I love all your recipes, I follow the blog and own the cookbook and love it. A lot of your recipes require a food processor. I have resisted purchasing one because of the cost and storage issues. But realize I need one to make these kind of recipes and the nut butters. My blender doesn’t cut it. Anyways, I came across a Hamilton Beach processor. A very small one and only $42. In your experience do you think this would do the job when it comes to your recipes and the nut butters? Even only $42 I still don’t want to waste my money on something that won’t suffice.
I have never tried a Larabar and I wanted yo enjoy a healthy, tasty snack withouy breaking the bank, so I tried this. It turned out really delicious. Now I have 10 individually wrapped cookies (that’s how I made them – cookie dough cookies! Who would have thought?) in my fridge ready to fight cravings and hunger pangs. Might I add that I ate at least 2 portions while making these – sugar free healthy treats. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Hi! I love how simple this recipe is! I actually made up a few of my own homemade Larabars and Kind. I just posted the Gingerbread Larabar one on my new blog. My other favorite homemades are blueberry muffin and apple pie. I would love to hear your input on my latest recipes!
Thanks!
http://www.mynuttyperfectionism.com
What could I use in place of nuts. I’m allergic.
I love a lot of your recipes, and so do my kids, but our school is a nut-free school so most of the snacks I can’t put in the kids’ lunch boxes. It would be great if you have some more recipes that are nut-free.
Thanks for all the recipes so far.
These are soooo awesome! I added some dehydrated raspberries to the mix and it’s like healthy candy!! Thanks for the great recipe, it will be used many times!
Delicious! Just made these but added hazelnuts to the mix. I made things a bit too moist to make into bars, so I rolled them into balls then rolled them in cocoa powder. I have been trying not to eat them all like a healthier Cookie Monster.
These are delicious and even better than a Larabar! The first time I made the recipe, the bars were perfect. The second time I made the recipe, the bars were crumbly. It’s a mystery since the dates were relatively fresh both times. I might reduce the cashews slightly next time.
Yay I found your blog & LOVE IT! I have a lot of dried figs on hand at the moment, do you find that they work as a substitute for dates in these types of recipes? Thanks :O)
Thank you for this recipe! I made it yesterday and everyone in the family loved these bars! Have you tried making them nut free? I would love to be able to send these to school. Do you think a combination of pumpkin, sunflower seeds and hemp hearts might work in place of the cashews?
Just made these and WOW – they’re so delicious I can’t stop eating them. So much for self control.
Just tried these. Turned out awesome :) Thank you :)
So delicious! Actually tastes like cookie dough, but much healthier. Even my extremely picky daughter loved these.
I’m so glad to hear that, Lisa!
So good! Made these for a girls’ weekend with one vegan friend and everyone enjoyed. Simple too. Thanks!!
I made this recipe and loved it! I added more dates for recipe for some extra flavor, but all around it was great
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Sam!
Has anyone tried baking this recipe? I ask only because my fiancé found it too crumbly and prefers a more solid consistency. Any help would be awesome!
Hi Katie, it sounds like you may have needed the extra water? I find that if after you process in the dates and vanilla the mixture doesn’t stick easily between your fingers, or it’s still a bit crumbly, it helps to add a very small amount of water (1 teaspoon at a time) and process it again. I usually add between 1 to 2 teaspoons of water. Hope this helps!
Just finished making these… Guess I should pay more attention next time! My dates were NOT pitted.. Spent a good 20 minutes going through the ‘dough’ inch by inch to make sure I got them all out, I hope I did. Are they toxic or anything? Or should I just be careful when I go to eat them as the pits seem hard.
I just made these and they are SO GOOD!!! I actually processed the chocolate chips a bit too much and it all was blended together but it tastes amazing. Can’t wait to make these for my toddler swapping the chocolate chips for some peanut butter!
Hi there, any good subs for the cashews? Our school has gone nut free and I would love to make this for lunches :)
Cheers!
Hi Krystina, I’m not sure, but sunflower seeds might work. The flavour would obviously be impacted, but it might be worth experimenting with. Or, you could try a mix of seeds like hemp, sesame, sunflower, etc. Maybe even a bit of oatmeal? (I know someone substituted oats for a portion of the cashews and really liked the results!) If you give something a try, I hope you’ll let us know how it goes! :)
Yummmm!! These were so easy and so delicious! Hubby thinks they taste like a mix between a Snickers & Mars bar :) Definitely making again, thanks for the recipe!
So happy you enjoyed them, Kiarra :)