Apple Pie Cinnamon Bars

My dearest often grabs an Apple Pie Cinnamon Larabar for breakfast on the way out the door to work.  It gladdens my heart when he does, because they are full of fruit, nuts and are packed with nutrition.  And he isn't big on "healthy" foods.

But as most of you know, they are PRICEY!

I saw a recent post on The Elliott Homestead about her variety of homemade bars and thought I should give our favorite flavor a whirl.  By the way, I love her blog.  I love the wit, candor, faith, food, shall I go on?  Its a great one to bookmark!

Here is my attempt to make Apple Pie Cinnamon Bars:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup pitted dates
2 seeded apples chopped (next time I will try dried apples to make it a bit firmer)
1/2 cups almonds (raw, whole)
1/4 cup walnuts (baking)
3 TBSP raisins (make sure they are GF!)
2 tsp. cinnamon

This picture shows a date with a pit in it and the pits I have pulled out.  Having never pitted a date before (myself) I thought others might be curious as well.

Doesn't this just look yummy! 

While not the prettiest to look at, it is yummy and super sweet! 

I used my Ninja, but I think a food processor or Vitamix would make a better blend.  I started out with the pulse function and that worked quite well, but I wanted less big bits of nuts, a more smooth texture.  If you don't mind chunks, it worked just fine.  It was a bit more soft then I expected.  If you owned a dehydrator and tried to dehydrate them a bit, I think it would firm it up a bit more.  Like I stated above, I think dried apples would have a better consistency.

The finished project was a really soft dough that I spread out.  I refrigerated it to firm it up and then cut it into bars.  I put each bar in a snack size ziploc and put in a container in the fridge for a grab and go snack.  Keep finished project refrigerated or frozen.  Eat with in one week.

Stay tuned for my chocolate version (IT IS SO YUMMY!!!!!)