Inspired by my affinity for KIND Fruit & Nut Bars, this honey-sweetened, grain-free version is less expensive to make than purchasing its namesake. And even better, you can customize the recipe to make a wide variety of flavor-combinations based on your own personal taste preferences (and your kids too)!
These fruit & nut grain-free bars make a great health lunchbox addition for kids and adults alike, and are also the perfect snack bar for healthy eating on-the-go or anytime you need a quick energy boost!
Looking for more great bars? Check out these:
• Nut-Free “KIND” Bar – perfect for those with nut-allergies
• Cherry-Chocolate Chip Bar – chocolate chips, need I say more?
• Apricot-Almond Crunch Bar – mildly sweet, tangy & delicious!
This delightful recipe is just one of more than 100 irresistible grain-free, dairy-free recipes in my new cookbook – Everyday Grain-Free Baking!
From breads, biscuits and muffins to savory snacks and decadent treats, you’ll find step-by-step instructions, beautiful color photographs and helpful tips & tidbits to make all of your GF baking adventures a delicious success!
Click here to get a SNEAK PEEK of the book!
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup pure honey (mild honey such as clover is best)
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1 tablespoon *all-natural almond butter
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 1/3 cups chopped whole *nuts
- 1/2 cup chopped dried fruit
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (not finely shredded coconut)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Trim parchment paper to line an 8×8-inch baking dish, leaving parchment paper to hang over two sides of the dish.
- In a large bowl, add the honey, coconut flour, all-natural nut butter and salt. Use a spoon to stir until well combined.
- On a large cutting board, coarse-chop a couple of large handfuls of assorted whole nuts (see note below). Measure out 1 1/3 cup of the chopped nuts and add them to the honey mixture.
- Next, chop the dried fruit and measure out 1/2 cup and add to the honey mixture.
- Finally, measure 1 cup of coconut flakes (not shredded coconut). Place coconut flakes on the cutting board and coarse-chop. Add chopped coconut flakes to honey mixture.
- Using a spoon, mix ingredients together making sure they are thoroughly combined.
- Place the bar mixture into the parchment-lined baking dish. Fold overlapping flaps down and evenly press the top of the bar mixture firmly to pack-in the ingredients so they hold together better after baking. Then, peel back the parchments flaps from top of bars. (Do not trim, as the flaps make it easier to remove the bars after baking.)
- Bake for 20 minutes. Then remove from oven and allow to completely cool on stovetop for approximately one hour (or until bottom of baking dish is room temp).
- Place in fridge to continue cooling. (Do not freeze as it makes it impossible to cut the bars without them crumbling.) Once cold, remove dish from refrigerator. Then, run a knife along the two edges without parchment. Using the parchment paper ends, lift the bars from the baking dish and place on a cutting board.
- Cut into 8 bars and individually wrap and store in the fridge or freezer. Then you can easily take out what you need and place directly into your child’s lunchbox (or yours) – no need to thaw. However, for best results, bars should be kept cold so they do not become over-sticky. Simply include an ice pack, if placing them in a lunchbox, or taking them on the go.
Notes
*You can use any combination of nuts, such almonds, cashews, pistachios, peanuts, etc. Just be sure to rough-chop the nuts first and then measure out 1 1/3 cups. (Soaked and dehydrated nuts are best, especially for those with digestive issues.)
What nuts do I use? The bars in the photo are made by using 1/2 cup rough-chopped almonds, 1/2 cup rough-chopped cashews and 1/3 cup rough-chopped pistachios.
The same goes for dried fruit – rough-chop any combination of dried fruit you choose and then measure out 1/2 cup. (I use a combination of dried cranberries and dried wild blueberries.)
And finally, you can use any all-natural nut butter you choose, just be sure it’s simply ground nuts (without additives) for best results and nutrition. I use all-natural creamy almond butter.
What if I don't care for coconut? You can omit the coconut flakes and replace with additional chopped nuts and dried fruit. Substitute 1/3 to 1/2 cup of chopped nuts and 1/3 cup of chopped dried fruit. (Please note: If you substitute with an additional whole cup of nuts the bars will be too dry). Also, you can omit the coconut flour as well and replace it with ground flaxseed. Enjoy!