Homemade Lara Bars

My dad is a big fan of Lara bars for when he goes golfing or is out for the day, so I offered to make him homemade varieties (I like them too and figured we could share what I made).  In the past, I've made them from whole, pitted dates, chopped up in the food processor, but I found already chopped date paste at Meijer!  This was very exciting because chopping them in the food processor results in more sticky stuff to clean up.  Anyway, if you find some chopped dates at the store, just make sure that the only ingredient is dates, otherwise you'll have extra ingredients in your Lara bars that you maybe don't want there.

So, my dad's favorite kind is Pecan Pie, so I made that one with 1/3 cup of dates and 1/2 cup of chopped pecans.  I mixed them together with my hands and this made about three bars.  Of course, it is very easy to double or triple the recipe if you want more.

I made one other variety of Pecan Pie, but with raisins in it.  This was 1/3 c. of chopped pecans, 1/4 c. raisins (these you certainly have to get the food processor sticky with), and 1/4 c. of dates.

I also made Peanut Butter and Jelly bars with 1/3 c. chopped peanuts, 1/4 c. raisins, and 1/4 c. of dates.

And finally, Coconut Brownie with 1/3 c. dates, 1/2 c. chopped pecans, 2 Tbs. cocoa powder, and 2 Tbs. chopped unsweetened coconut.