Saturday, February 19, 2011

Sunbutter Chocolate Raisin Bars


As I promised last week, here is another delicious protein bar! These are a spin off of my favorite Nourishing Protein Bar recipe. I was in a rush to make them, felt like experimenting, wasn't in a "recipe mood," so I just started throwing some ingredients together. I never officially wrote down the recipe measurements since I decided to wing it, but here are some estimates. Most of my bar recipes are very forgiving and you can always adjust if the "dough" is too wet or too dry, by adding more oil or nuts. It's fun to experiment in the kitchen!

Raisins and chocolate = yum!


Sunbutter Chocolate Raisin Bars

    1/2 cup organic Sunbutter or any organic sunflower seed butter
    1/2 cup organic dates
    1/4 cup organic prunes
    2 large organic turkish figs
    1/2 cup organic brazil nuts
    1 cup organic coconut flakes
    1/4 cup 100% unsweetened cocoa baking chips
    1/2 cup organic cacao powder
    1/4 cup organic coconut cream concentrate
    2 Tbsp organic coconut flour
    2 Tbsp molasses
    2 Tbsp raw honey
    2 tsp vanilla extract
    pinch: sea salt, cinnamon
    2 Ghirardelli baking chocolate bars, for melting
    Raisins, for topping

To make your bars:
1.  Place all ingredients (except the last two) into the food processor and whiz. Pulse the first few times, and when most of the ingredients are the same size, whiz until it all comes together. Taste and adjust as needed :)
2.  Press down hard into a baking pan (I used a round cake pan). Sprinkle raisins on top and press in those too.
3.  Melt chocolate over a double boiler. Pour over pressed down bar mixture and spread evenly with a cake spatula. Freeze or refridgerate until chocolate is hard. Let bars warm to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Since I used a round pan, mine came out like wedges!


Have a happy healthy snack (and dessert)! I love these bars. They really satisfy my want for chocolate, healthy fats and a slightly sweet treat all in one bite!

12 comments:

Lisa@The Nourishing Homemaker said...

I love Passionate Homemaking's Protein Bars- yum! The changes you made sound delicious too!

cailen ascher said...

wow that looks so yummy! (and nutritious...of course : )

Meagan said...

Thanks :) It looks like such a long ingredient list - but it couldn't be more easy - just throw it all into the food processor!

Maryea {Happy Healthy Mama} said...

I love sunbutter! These look delicious!

Kelsey Ann said...

this is insane!!!! super foods and super fruits with the dates and figs and prunes - mm and unsweetened cocoa baking chips sounds so delicious. these are edible art pieces! <3

xoxo

bhealthier said...

this looks absolutely amazing!!! what a great recipe!

I seriously am bookmarking this so I can try it out! yum!

I'm doing my first giveaway ever!: http://www.beinghealthier.com/2011/03/14/giveaway-diet-drama/

Sarah (Running To Slow Things Down) said...

That looks awesome! Love, love, love the flavor choices. :D

Alex@Spoonful of Sugar Free said...

I haven't had sunbutter in so long!!! This recipe gives me a good excuse to go buy some more :) :) :) But, of course, I will have to try it sans honey :)

Melissa said...

I've never even thought of home-made protein bars. it's genius. very exciting :)

Anonymous said...

This looks great! I'm not a huge fan of dates though...though I do love raisins - dates are good ground though so I might try it. Can't go wrong with chocolate right? :)

Kelsey said...

I've never had sunbutter before, but I have a bunch of already soaked and dehydrated sunflower seeds I need to use - can I just grind them into a paste and use? I love how you sliced these up like pie - makes it seems a bit more decadent somehow!

Meagan said...

@ Kelsey - those sunflower seeds are absolutely perfect for making homemade sunbutter, I do this myself. Throw it into your food processor and give it a whirl :)