Homemade Lara Bars- Cashew Cookie

So since I have been on my gluten/dairy free journey, I have really fallen in love with Lara Bars. I find myself craving them quite a bit and wanted to try to make some at home. My favorite flavor is the cashew cookie and I decided to look up how they are made. Seriously, only 2 ingredients! However, a lot of people like to use their food processor, which lucky me, I don't have. So I decided I would try making them without one. I did use a tiny bit of coconut oil on the pan that I laid them on and on top of them so they would not stick while rolling out. If you feel adventurous and want to make them, here is what I did:

1/2 cup Raw Cashews
6 Dates (with pits or without, it was easy taking them out)
and 1/2 tbs Coconut Oil

I put the cashews in a sandwich bag and took the bottom of a cup and began crushing the cashews into fine pieces. I also used a roll pin to help in the process. After I did that, I put a piece of saran wrap over the top of the dates and began rolling and flattening. The dates are already sticky and blended together very well. I was surprised at how well the texture blended. It was like a date dough.

Finally after my date dough was blended well, I added the cashews slowly. This is a lot of hand work and kneading. I would basically knead in the cashews as I added more, and the dates took in the cashews well. You may add more or less cashews depending on what you want. I added a lot of cashews because I wanted it to be as similar in taste as the cashew cookie.

I took about 1/4 tbs of coconut oil and spread it on the bottoms and corners of a small pan. I didn't use much. Then I put the kneaded mixture of dates and cashews down in the pan and put about 1/4 tbs coconut oil on top of it, making sure it won't be sticky. Then spread mixture out in the pan using a cup or rolling pin. I sat it in the fridge for about 20 minutes and then took them out and cut them in rectangles. They aren't fancy, but they sure are delicious and good for you!

If you try these, let me know how they turn out. They are easy and the prep time seriously took less than a half hour. Good luck!!