Snickerdoodle energy bars are only available seasonally, but since I love making my own bars, I decided that we needed them year round! We bought an entire box of snickerdoodle Lara bars for our trip to Utah late last fall. Store bought energy bars are nice from a convenience standpoint (especially on a road trip) but homemade always taste 1,000x better, and they’re also a lot cheaper! I used a combination of almond and pecans for this recipe but you can use other nuts like walnuts or cashews if you have an allergy. Another thing I’ve started doing more often is putting a bit of coconut in my energy bars. I like how it adds a softer texture and an extra dimension of flavor to the overall picture.
While Tyler loved the amount of cinnamon in the store bought bars, I found it to be a little overwhelming, but nothing a cup of strong coffee couldn’t fix. For my homemade version I toned down the cinnamon, but I left you a note in the recipe to be sure and taste to see if you want to add more!
These energy bars are some of the simplest I’ve ever made. Just a few ingredients into the food processor, and a couple minutes later you have 30 energy bars just waiting to be snacked on.
You can process your bars to be as smooth or chunky as you’d like, I like mine to be soft like a cookie dough but with a few good sized chunks to crunch on.
To shape them into bars, line a cookie sheet with plastic wrap, and using a spatula spread the energy bar dough about 1/2″ thick. This recipe only takes up about 3/4 of a regular sized baking sheet.
Next taking a large chef’s knife, cut the bars into portions. I cut mine into approximately 1 ounce bars which is a smaller serving size than the store bought versions, but on your average day I don’t need that much for a snack. When I make bars to take hiking or traveling, I tend to make them in a 2-3 ounce size because we often use them as a small meal replacement.
I also love these bars because they remind me of my Mom’s Snickerdoodle Cookies she made during the holidays when we were growing up, except these are healthy enough to eat everyday! No reviews
