Make Your Own Apple Pie Lara Bars at Home

I've developed a new obsession with Lara Bars. After trying out their cashew cookie and apple pie flavored bars, I looked at the ingredient list, and knew that this was something that I could easily make at home, and for a fraction of the cost. The minimal ingredients and the short time to it takes make these leaves little room for excuses why you shouldn't try them yourself. I have made 2 batches in the past week, making it a great snack for us to bring on the plane to JFK tomorrow, as well as on our drive to Vermont this weekend for my sorority sister's wedding! So long vending machine snacks and processed junk! Hello homemade health food that actually tastes good! Better yet, these bars are vegan, gluten-free, dairy free, and soy free!

Apple Pie Lara Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pitted dates
• 1/4 cup organic raisins
• 3/4 cup dried apple slices
• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. ground ginger
• pinch of sea salt
• water (if needed)

Add the dates, raisins, and apple slices to your food processor and pulse until the ingredients turn into a sticky ball. Add in the almonds, walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Pulse until the the nuts are finely chopped and the mixture is sticky when you press your finger to it. If needed, add water 1 tsp. at a time, until you reach the consistency you need.

Add the mixture to a parchment paper lined baking dish and press down firmly with your fingers. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Lift the parchment paper out of the dish and cut into 6 evenly sized bars. Wrap each one individually in cling wrap.

Keep at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.