Cocoa Apricot Cashew Bites are a naturally-sweetened snack that are easy to make and very kid-friendly.
Except for a handful of “cheat” days for the FishMama Trifecta, I’m going sugar-free this month, trying to reclaim a little bit of that energy that I felt during my Whole 30. I don’t want to give up baked goods forever, but this is another experiment to see how food and me gel.
I really like food.
So far, I am finding that it’s easier to fall asleep and I’m sleeping more soundly than I have in weeks previous. Yay, sleep!
Since we are decidedly a “dessert family”, I’m exploring alternatives to traditonally sweetened items. Earlier this week I made maple ice cream as well as these Cocoa Apricot Cashew Bites. I’m trying to make a replacement for my favorite Lara Bars that cost a dollar a piece. I didn’t crunch the numbers on these, but I am guessing I cut the price significantly.
I’m probably the last one to get on the homemade energy bar band wagon. I purposely didn’t look at any recipes, though, so I could feel like I was making this discovery all on my own. I’m sure y’all will have great ideas on how to improve these. They were pretty darn good though.
And my kids loved them.
- 2 cups dried apricots
- 1 cup coconut chips
- 1/2 cup dry-roasted cashews
- 1/2 cup almond meal
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon seed or nut butter
- In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, add the apricots, coconut chips, cashews, almond meal, and cocoa powder. Pulse until a coarse mixture forms.
- Add the coconut oil and nut butter and continue pulsing until the components are chopped fairly small and the mixture holds together well.
- Scoop tablespoon amounts and form them into small cookie shapes.
- Store bites in layers of waxed paper in an airtight container. Enjoy within the week.
Nutritional values are approximate and are based on 18 Cocoa Apricot Cashew Bites made from the recipe. Store leftovers and use within 4 days.
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Going to have to try these – I’m dairy and soy free (was wheat/dairy/soy free) because my baby I’m nursing has a dairy & soy allergy. I’m spending a fortune on Lara bars!
@amber, there are recipes to make homemade versions of Lara bars..
@amber, these taste almost exactly like the Lara bars I was buying.
Sounds yummy. What are coconut chips?
They are big and thick shavings of coconut. You could probably use shredded unsweetened coconut.
Thank you so much for doing this. I am changing the way we eat and less sugar is on the top of the list. These look great and esay. Thank you again for the sugar free recipes.
@Claire, it’s amazing how much better I’m sleeping now that I took sugar out.
Thanks so much for this recipe. I’ve been doing the paleo diet for approx 12 weeks now. That paired with crossfit that I joined in april. im down 4 inches around my waist and I’ve lost15 lbs which brings me to 114 lbs. I love this clean eating but I need more recipies. I’m gonna try this and the monkey salad this week : )
Those sound good. Too bad I’ll have to pass with the flour and cashews. 🙁
@Carla, by flour, do you mean the almond meal? Yeah, nut allergies would get in the way of this recipe. But, I bet you could add sunflower seeds instead.
Is almond meal basically just powderized almonds? I’m wondering if I could make some with what I have rather than buying something else.
Yes, it’s basically ground almonds. If you buy almonds at a cheap price, then you could just make your own.
These look great, but my cupboard is bare of apricots. Going to try it with dates instead. Seems like it would be hard to go wrong with sweet nutty chocolate flavors.
Yep, I think dates would be great. That’s what Larabar uses.
Instead of almond meal, what could you substitute ?
You could omit it, or just add some finely ground cashews.
Hello. I love this recipe for the Cocoa, Apricot, & Cashew bars and I had a question. Couldn’t one refrigerate these so they will keep longer? Have you tried that? Thanks.
Jane E
Thanks so much for this recipe! I’m on my first Whole 30 and these perfectly satisfy my need for a little something sweet. I ground up my own almonds for the flour and omitted the honey to make it Whole 30 compliant. I subbed in two tablespoons of water to help the mixture stick together. They came out perfectly, now I don’t need to spend money on Larabars!
Yay! So glad that it worked for you!