Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabar (Copycat)
These copycat peanut butter, chocolate chip Larabars are as good as the original. They are just four ingredients, are no bake, and so easy to make with just a food processor. They are packed full of flavor and make the perfect healthy snack! Most pre-portioned snacks at the grocery store are so expensive and often way overpriced. They often have sugar or other unhealthy ingredients in them too, which makes them less attractive to have in your healthy eating regime.But by making your own, you control the cost and quality of the ingredients and can make sure they are clean eating snacks. These bars have simple and clean ingredients anyway so its pretty easy to replicate them at home.With just peanuts and dates as the base for the bars they boast no added sugar but still have 100% of the flavor, offering something both kiddos and adults will love and make the perfect healthy homemade snack. They are a great snack to keep on hand for an any time, after school, after work and are a great energy bar recipe for fitness enthusiasts, runners, cyclists, hikers, and other busy athletes.The protein in the peanuts makes them satisfying enough to grab along with a piece of fruit when you are pressed for time and need a quick breakfast, while the dates add a sweetness that won’t spike your blood sugar and leave you ravenous in hours.I am more of an almond or cashew butter girl myself, but my husband loves peanut butter so I know that these will be gobbled up fast. I have plans to try the recipe with almonds or cashews as I love recipes like this because they are just so easy.I cut mine in squares. You could make bars or balls or really any shape you could think of. I store them in the fridge, they will keep at least a week if you can get them to last that long! They freeze well too, so feel free to double the batch!No doubt about it, these copycat Larabars are as good as the original. Once all the ingredients are blended, all you have to do is cover and chill them!Simple, wholesome ingredients come together to form a delicious, healthy copycat version of one of the most popular Larabar flavors. They will quickly become a staple at your house, and by customizing them with your own ingredients, you will never tire of eating them!
Servings 10
Ingredients
- 2 cups peanuts, raw, or roasted, unsalted
- 2 cups dates, soaked at least 30 minutes and drained
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line an 8 x 8” baking pan or dish with parchment paper on the bottom and sides leaving some overhanging to act as a handle to get the bars out easier for cutting.Place peanuts into a food processer and process until broken down and crumbly. Add dates, coconut oil and salt and continue to process until mixture is sticky and well combined. Stop and scrape down the sides and bottom of the food processor if necessary and continue to blend until a sticky dough has formed. Be careful not to over process as its nice to have texture variance and different sized “bits” in your bars.Put the bowl into the fridge to chill for about 5 minutes as if the mixture has warmed up from the blending process it will melt the chocolate chips.Add the chocolate chips to the mixture (I saved about ½ tablespoon for the top of the bars), and pulse them into the mixture, or fold them in with a rubber spatula.Press the mixture into the bottom of your pan or dish evenly, sprinkle the extra chocolate chips on top and gently press in so they don’t fall off when eating. Place in fridge or freezer for 1-2 hours, until firmed up and set.Lift out of baking pan using the parchment paper handles and cut into 8-10 bars or more smaller squares, depending on the size you prefer.Wrap individually and refrigerate until ready to eat.
If you are looking for more delicious, healthy, no bake desserts and treats to help you reach your health, wellness and fitness goals, you will love my collection here: Blended Bites
