Nutty cocoa bars are easy no-bake-gooey-choco-bars. You can add any nuts of your choice like almonds, cashews, pecans or walnuts. A mix of dry fruits, such as pitted prunes, raisins, figs or apricots, can also be added which makes it gooey.
You can store these nutty cocoa bars in the fridge for several weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months. The bars can be eaten straight from the fridge or freezer and will be firm, but chewy. Room-temperature bars are perfectly fine to eat and can be kept in a lunch bag or backpack all day, but will be more soft and paste-like.
These fruit n’nut cocoa bars are my kids favourite.
Ingredients
- 1 cup almonds and cashews
- 1 cup raisins
- 2 tbsps. Shredded coconut
- 1 cup pitted dried dates and prunes
- 2 tbsps. Cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp. Coconut oil
- Honey or maple syrup, to taste
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Method
- Nuts in these bars can be used raw or roasted; roasting will add a toasty, nutty depth to the bars. If desired, roast the nuts for 10 to 12 minutes, until fragrant and golden. Allow to cool before using.
- Combine the nuts, dried fruits, coconut, cocoa powder, coconut oil, dates and honey in a food processor. Pulse a few times just to break them up. Separate the dates if they start to clump together.
- Process continuously until a ball is formed, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Continue processing for another 1 to 2 minutes, until the ingredients clump together and gather into a ball.
- Lay a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper on your work surface and dump the dough on top. Press the dough with your hands until it forms a thick square, roughly 8″x8″ in size. Wrap and chill for at least an hour or overnight.
- Unwrap the chilled dough and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 8 large bars or 16 small squares, as desired. Wrap each bar in plastic wrap or wax paper.
- Fruit n’nut cocoa bars are ready!!
