How to Make Fruit & Nut Energy Bites

By Natalie PerryPublished: Feb 24, 2017

These are to Larabar brand energy bars, but taste better and are much more affordable! This is a base recipe for energy bites. Have fun coming up with your own flavor combinations!

Makes about 22 to 24 1-inch energy bites.

From Natalie Perry of Perry's Plate.

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Yields:: 24 serving(s)
Prep Time:: 20 mins
Total Time:: 20 mins

Ingredients

12
Pitted Medjool Dates
2 c.
Nuts, Whole, Chopped, Or Ground (Nut Meal Or Nut Flour)
1 c.
To 2 Cups Shredded Coconut, Dried Fruit, Or Freeze-dried Fruit
Spices, Citrus Zest, Or Chocolate

Directions

Place all of the ingredients into a work bowl of a food processor in the order listed. (You’ll need at least a 7-cup capacity for this recipe to work. Feel free to halve the recipe if you need to.)

Start pulsing. The mixture will go through a dry, minced stage, and then gradually moisten as the dates are incorporated and the nuts release some of their oils. Keep pulsing until the mixture resembles clumpy wet sand and will stick together when pinched. If you’ve been pulsing for several minutes and the mixture still seems too dry, add water, a tablespoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency. Sometimes the moisture level in dates vary. The mixture shouldn’t be goopy or extra sticky.

Roll into 1-inch balls or press into a standard bread pan lined with plastic wrap. Cut them into bars, then lift them out using the plastic wrap.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Best when eaten within a week.

Notes:
1. I don't recommend using fresh fruit. The moisture in the fruit will make the mixture mushy. I highly recommend using dried fruit, particularly crispy dried fruit (like apple chips) or freeze-dried fruit. You’ll be able to use more and get a more powerful punch of flavor.
2. If you use dried, chewy fruit, cut it up. If it’s larger than a dried blueberry, it’s best to chop it up so your energy bites will hold together better. Also, if you use this type of dried fruit, don’t use more than 1 cup in this recipe or they’ll (again) have a hard time sticking together.
3. To toast coconut, put the coconut in a dry skillet and cook it over medium heat, shaking the pan around every couple of minutes. It will take less than 5 minutes to turn golden brown and it burns quickly, so keep an eye on it!

I’m a huge fan of fruit and nut energy bites. They’re similar to the Larabar brand energy bars, but (in my opinion) taste better and are much more affordable. Since they’re full of healthy fats, they’ll keep you satisfied in a pinch and calm your sweet tooth down.

I like to eat a couple in the evening if I get the munchies. It usually keeps me out of the ice cream.

Usually.

These energy bites are made mostly from dates and nuts. Depending on what you add to them they can be gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, and paleo. I think that covers just about everyone.

This tray of possibilities doesn’t even begin to cover all the ingredients you can throw into these little gems. I’ll be using most of these to show you some flavor combinations, and hopefully you’ll be inspired and create your own.

Let’s get started. I’m getting hungry.

Using soft, fresh dates is best. Tear them in half and pull the pits out. If they’re hard to rip in half or dried out, you may want to chop them up so your food processor doesn’t bounce around on the counter. Or give you dirty looks.

Add whatever nuts, fruit, and flavorings you like. For these, I added walnuts, cashews, crispy dried apples, and some spices. (This Spiced Apple variation is included below!)

Start pulsing it to get things moving and mincing. After several pulses, it’ll look really dry and crumbly.

Keep pulsing.

Eventually the moisture from the dates and the oils from the nuts will turn the mixture into what looks like clumpy, wet sand.

Test out the texture by grabbing some off the top and squeezing it in your hand. It should stick together, but not be mushy. If the mixture is too dry, add a tablespoon of water and pulse a few more times. Moisture content will depend on the freshness of your dates.

Remove the blade before you start removing the nut mixture. I’ve gotten a few nasty cuts from a food processor blade. It isn’t pretty.

At this point, you can either roll them or press them into bars. If you roll them, you’ll get about 22 to 24 1-inch balls out of a batch.

Or you can make bars by transferring the mixture to a plastic-wrap-lined bread pan and pressing it evenly into the bottom. Cut them into bars with a butter knife.

Lift them out of the pan using the plastic wrap and separate them. These are more substantial than the one-inch balls, but you can cut them down to whatever size you like.

Aren’t they pretty? Have fun with these! I love having a container of these on hand for quick snacks or to put in my kids’ lunches. They’re also great to keep in my purse if anyone gets the munchies if we’re out and about.

I’m giving you a flexible base recipe as a jump off point (recipe below the post!), and four variations to give you some flavor ideas.

1 - Toasted Coconut & Macadamia Nut

12 pitted medjool dates
1 cup blanched almond flour
1 cup salted macadamia nuts
1 1/2 cup toasted shredded unsweetened coconut
1-inch piece of ginger (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon lime zest

2 - Almond Joy

12 pitted medjool dates
1 cup whole raw almonds
1 cup blanched almond flour
1 cup toasted shredded unsweetened coconut
4 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
pinch of sea salt

Pulse in 1/3 cup of mini dark chocolate chips at the very end.

3 - Spiced Apple

12 pitted medjool dates
1 cup whole raw walnuts
1 cup whole raw cashews
2 cups crispy dried apple chips
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of sea salt

4 - Raspberry Hazelnut

12 pitted medjool dates
1 cup whole raw cashews
1 cup whole raw hazelnuts
1 1/2 cups freeze-dried raspberries
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
pinch of sea salt

The Pioneer Woman

Now that you’ve got some recipes to start with, here are some tips. Because everyone likes tips.

Don’t use fresh fruit. Well, you can, but you won’t be able to use very much because the moisture in the fruit will make the mixture mushy. I highly recommend using dried fruit, particularly crispy dried fruit (like apple chips) or freeze-dried fruit. You’ll be able to use more and get a more powerful punch of flavor.
If you use dried, chewy fruit, cut it up. If it’s larger than a dried blueberry, it’s best to chop it up so your energy bites will hold together better. Also, if you use this type of dried fruit, don’t use more than 1 cup in this recipe or they’ll (again) have a hard time sticking together.
To toast coconut, put the coconut in a dry skillet and cook it over medium heat, shaking the pan around every couple of minutes. It will take less than 5 minutes to turn golden brown and it burns quickly so keep an eye on it!