Another chocolate recipe?
My goodness, you’d think this was some sort of chocolate-covered blog.
Oh wait; that’s right. It is.
The first time I tried a Larabar, I didn’t really like it. My mistake was in choosing a cherry-flavored bar. Someone should’ve shaken me and said, Hello! Of course you didn’t like it, Katie. It has no chocolate!”
When I tried a Jocalat chocolate Larabar, it was love at first bite. As a busy college student with no time to bake brownies, these bars offered a quick cure for my chocolate cravings (or a stopgap anyway. I doubt I will ever find a cure for my chocoholism… but that’s perfectly ok with me!)
Recently, I’ve been having trouble locating Jocalats. Thank goodness I know how to make my own chocolate Larabars.
Plus, they’re cheaper than store-bought and save packaging too.
Hot Fudge Brownie Larabars
Based on the recipe for Fudge Babies.
- 1 cup walnuts (120 g)
- 1 and 1/3 cups pitted dates (220 g) (I love SunMaid dates, as they’re much softer.)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3-4 tbsp cocoa powder (or even Dutch cocoa)
- optional: 1/8 plus 1/16 tsp salt (I always add it)
- optional: chocolate chips or even a piece of a chocolate bar or baking chocolate
Blend all the ingredients, using a food processor or Magic Bullet. No need to blend the dates first; I just blend everything all at once in my MB. If you use drier dates than SunMaid, you might have to add up to 1 tbsp water. Form into bars. It might help to put dough in a plastic bag and close the bag, then shape into a bar. (Feel free to experiment with different nut combinations. I often sub almonds or cashews for some of the walnuts.)
Click for more flavors: Homemade Larabar Recipes.
What are your favorite Larabar flavors?
One of my favorite homemade larabar flavors: Homemade Oatmeal Cookie Larabars.
As for the real Larabars, my favorite flavors are the plain chocolate Jocalats and the cookie dough Larabars. I love making up my own flavors and am thinking chocolate-raspberry might have to be next! Any other flavor suggestions for homemade Larabar recipes you’d like to see?
Okay, I burned out the motor on my little tiny Cuisinart trying to make these, but I saved the not-quite-blended mixture and used it all as an excuse to buy a big Cuisinart and finish the job. And I got it on an amazing sale. Nice! But now, although it tastes INCREDIBLE, I can’t get the mixture to stick together long enough to pick up any sizable piece up to put it in my mouth. I think it’s probably because I used dates that were already chopped up and consequently too dry already. Can you offer a solution at this point? Can I add something to increase the stickiness while keeping the taste the same? Should I just add a little water?
Oh, and I actually used pecans instead of walnuts because of walnut sensitivities. Delicious!
Hmmm… maybe some peanut butter? Or coconut butter if you have it!
Just made these with dried banana instead of dates, and added a little cinnamon. Very nice!
So, so, so, heavenly! These bars are every bit as chocolatey and fudgy as the name suggests! I will be making numerous batches of them!
OH MY GOODNESS! These are divine! I could almost swear I was just eating an undercooked brownie (which, really, they are the best kind!). Thank-you, thank-you! Finally, some desert for my poor deprived Paleo tummy 🙂
OMG KATIE. BROWNIE LARABARS AND SAMOA LARABARS HAVE REPRODUCED IN MY KITCHEN. See it all started when I had this wonderful fresh coconut sitting on my countertop. I couldn’t decide which flavor larabar to make so I thought “why not both?” so I subbed half the walnuts with shredded fresh coconut, added a pinch of cinnamon (it really brings out the chocolate!) and followed the rest of the brownie larabar recipe. Oh. My. GOD. They are orgasmic (is that even a word?). Fabulous!
Katie, I was wondering if you have ever had Kind Fruit and Nut bars? They are so good, but too expensive and high in sugar. Have you ever tried making anything close to this? (I know they don’t have chocolate in them!) If you haven’t tried them you should, my favorite is the Apricot!
I don’t think I’ve ever had one! My sister likes them, but the only vegan ones I’ve seen are non-chocolate ones, so I never was interested lol. I will have to keep my eyes peeled for a vegan one with chocolate!
Oh Katie! I just made these and they are divine! Much better and taster than the three musketeers bars I used to eat when I had a chocolate craving! I can’t wait to try the rest of the recipes!
Could I use a blender instead of a food processor or magic bullet?
I tried it once, and it got really sticky in my Vita… but it did eventually all blend. It wasn’t as good of a texture, but it does work if you absolutely have to use it.
I just finished making these with the blender. It actually worked fairly well. I pulsed it and kept scraping the sides and it worked fine. Clean-up wasn’t too bad either. They’re delicious! I like them way better than the original jocolats.
OMG…I think I love you! I just found your blog. THANK YOU soooo much for all these healthy options! I can’t wait to make these yummy bars along with a ton of your other recipes. 🙂
I could die eating these! Mind you, I wound up making Hot Chocolate Fudge Babies. I was concerned about getting everything to fuse together.
Still, this is a brilliant recipe. I just made some this afternoon. A part of me doubts they’ll last ’til tomorrow! 😉
Hi Katie!
You’ve got a fantastic wealth of recipes here! I’ve linked to this post on my blog after I made a very similar Larabar yesterday – http://teachcooklove.blogspot.com/2012/02/im-baaaackwith-middle-eastern-recipes.html
I’m glad to see that you’re doing this full time now and I look forward to seeing lots more awesome recipes!!
Aww thanks! And the Middle Eastern food looks great! 🙂
I love larabars, but I love cliff bars even more! I have a request for a cliff bar recipe!!!! It would be so cool if you did this! I am a long distance runner and cliff bars are usually my Pre workout fuel, so a homemade,healthier version would be amazing!!
I will definitely put it on my list of things to try! 🙂
I added coconut to this recipe and rolled it into balls to creat kind of fudge balls 😛 Amazing!
I just found your blog and HAD to make these as soon as I saw them.
I used almonds instead of walnuts and added in dried cranberries and coconut. These are to die for!
I broke my blender attatchment making these tonight 🙁
On the good side, it gives me an excuse to buy a bigger, better blender!
Oh! I can’t decide between these or the Chocolate PB kind. I’m a thinkin’ I have to try both. (Did I miss where you put the recipe yield in your posts? And is there a print button or no?) Forgive me.. .my vison is impaired.