Larabars - or should I say Laurabars?

I love Larabars, but hate the price. The best price I have seen them go for in Ottawa is 3 for $5 at Loblaws, and that doesn't happen very often. The normal price is $2 each, and I've seen them at the Natural Food Pantry for $2.50 (the Natural Food Pantry, Ottawa's price-gouging health food store). I've thought about making my own bars several times, and on my last trip to Loblaws, where it seems Larabars have now disappeared from the shelves, I decided it was finally time.


I followed this recipe from Enlightened Cooking to make Cherry Pie Larabars. The result, while not exactly the same as a Larabar, is still an amazing substitute. I found the texture seemed to have a bit more date/cherry than it should - but that could be because I ended up adding a few more dates and dried cherries than the recipe called for when it seemed that I had too much chopped nuts. Regardless, the flavour was bang-on, and overall these bars are delicious. Easy to make too - the whole process probably only took me about 15 minutes. It took a little while for my food processor to thoroughly chop up the dates and cherries, but in the end it did the job (and I just have a plain old Hamilton Beech processor, nothing fancy). I will have to get the mathematically inclined BF to help me do a cost-analysis of these the next time I make them. Dates, dried cherries, and pecans are not the cheapest ingredients in the world, but I still think bar for bar I have to be saving money.

Other homemade Larabars on the web:

Southern, Eh? - Pecan Pie Larabars
Oh She Glows - Banana Bread, Chocolate Chip Cookie, and Coconut Cream Larabars