Homemade energy bars

How to make homemade energy bars.

The energy bars are a great mid-morning or afternoon snack to kill the hunger bug and hold out until lunch or dinner .

Unfortunately the industrial ones are loaded with sugars and preservatives, so it is best to stay away from them and prepare our own homemade energy bars .

It doesn’t take long to get them ready, they don’t require cooking, they last weeks in the pantry in good condition and give a lot of energy. And it has been one of my great discoveries for breakfast, combining with traditional breakfast and my homemade granola .

All advantages in these homemade energy bars that allow various combinations and can be adapted to the tastes of each, allowing you to try and play with various compositions.

The dried fruit that we use as a base for the dough gives a lot of character; it is not the same to use only dried apricots, that only dates or a mixture. But there is the grace, in the variety.

Perhaps the most complicated part of the process is the fact of needing a powerful mixer or kitchen robot, something essential. But if you are lucky enough to have it in your kitchens, then we encourage you to prepare them now.

So this week you take them to the office, tightly wrapped in parchment paper, and you will have a healthy snack from which to show off among your coworkers.

Basic preparation of energy bars

1. We check the point of the dried fruits and, in case they are not juicy, we put them to hydrate in hot water for 10-15 minutes.
2. Drain, dry and ready to use.
3. With a powerful mixer or food processor, we finely grind the nuts.
4. You have to try not to overdo it so that they do not release their oils, so it is best to go little by little and check the point from time to time. Once crushed, we remove them and reserve.
5. We chop the dried fruits and put them in the glass of the same mixer or robot, without the need to clean it.
6. We crush until we get a sticky dough that will be the glue and amalgamate the whole of the bar.
7. Return the crushed nuts to the blender glass.
8. Add the muesli, salt, assorted seeds and ground cinnamon. Crush again, in short, dry strokes, until everything is mixed well.
9. We just mixed by hand, carefully, because otherwise the seeds crumble excessively.

Bars shape and final presentation

1. The final mass must be sticky, but not excessively. Enough so that, by taking a little by the hand and squeezing, it holds together without being stuck too much to the fingers.
2. If the dough is too sticky, we can add more crushed nuts or muesli.
3. If, on the contrary, the dough is too dry and does not hold together, we can add water or oil. In any case, we mix again until homogeneous.
4. We cover a square or rectangular mold with vegetable paper. We can also grease it with a pinch of oil or simply use a silicone mat.
5. We spread the dough and compact it by crushing it with your hands (better lightly greased).
6. We smooth the surface, cover with a plastic and let it settle for at least an hour.
7. If we have used a mold, we unmold and cut into 12 portions of equal size (or as similar as possible) and ready to consume.

I encourage you to try doing it at home, the result is impressive. You can see all the step by step photos of these energy bars in this album.

Tips for perfect homemade energy bars

• The proper consistency of the dough, neither very soft nor very dry, depends largely on how wet the dried fruit is (dried apricots, dates, etc.), it is what acts as glue.
• If the bars have been left too tender, they can be aerated a little on top of a grid, until they get more consistency.
• They dry out very easily, so when they have a consistency to our liking, if they are not going to be consumed immediately, it is advisable to freeze the rest, tightly wrapped.
• If you like seeds, such as flaxseed, sesame, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, etc., with these bars you can give free rein to your imagination and taste.
• It is possible to flavor the bars by adding a little cocoa powder, ground açaí, matcha tea, ginger, etc. And also provide textures with chocolate chips, leaving chopped nuts, adding raisins, sultanas, blueberries or similar.
• Muesli can be substituted for oat flakes.