One of my favorite things about this blog is that I get to share my favorite flavor pairings with you. Peanut butter basil, banana chocolate chip, sweet peanut sauce and spicy sriracha, and now: cranberry, cashew and chocolate.
I discovered the beauty of cranberries cashews and chocolate on a random lunchbreak at work recently.
I’d gone out to a shaded bench with a few people in my co-working space, and as ‘dessert’ to my hummus and veggies, I packed a handful of raw cashews, dark chocolate chips and dried cranberries. The result? A flavor combination I wasn’t quite prepared for.
Simple yet insanely delicious, so much so that I felt compelled to stop mid-bite, examine my tiny handful, and announce to my friends that they needed to try it immediately. Out of that moment, this little recipe was born.
Another food love of mine is Larabars. I still remember when my sister discovered them and quickly turned me on to the apple pie flavor. The experience was just short of life changing. Ever since then recipes have been popping up on how to recreate them at home. So when I discovered my most recent flavor pairing, I knew I had to combine the two loves to make one beautiful recipe. And that, I did.
Chocolate Cashew Cookie Larabar Pops
Ingredients
- 15-20 pitted medjool dates*
- 1 cup raw or roasted cashews (unsalted // I used half and half)
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries (sweetened or unsweetened)
- 1/2 cup dairy-free dark or semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Place cashews in a food processor and process until they're in small pieces, but not as fine as flour. You still want some chunks. Empty into bowl and set aside.
- Process dates until small pieces form and they’re sticky.
- Add back in ground cashews, cranberries and chocolate chips. Mix or pulse until well combined.
- Open lid and grab a small handful and squeeze to see if the mixture sticks together. If it’s still too crumbly, add a few more dates and process.
- Scrape mixture into a bowl, then take 1 Tbsp measurements and form them into balls, letting the heat from your hand melt it together. Don’t roll them in your hands, but rather form them into balls carefully.
- Place balls on a cookie sheet and refrigerate. Add skewers or Popsicle sticks once chilled and store at room temperate in plastic bag or Tupperware to keep fresh.
Notes
*Questions about substitutions, equipment, or troubleshooting? Check out our Recipe FAQ page.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate.
Nutrition (1 of 20 servings)
These literally taste like a granola bar cookie. Moist from the dates, a little crunchy from the cashews, plenty sweet from the cranberries, and 100% chocolatey from the chocolate chips. Putting these badboys on sticks is totally optional. I was just taking mine to a dinner party where I wanted to share them as a fun dessert. But eating them as is – or straight from the bowl – is totally fine, too. Any way you serve, them they’re delicious!
Enjoy,
Dana
Mia says
This recipe was easy to make and delicious. Will definitely make again.
Yay! Thanks for the lovely review, Mia! xo
Karyn says
I made this and really loved it! :) how long do they last if i stored them at room temperature (bearing in mind that I’m in a tropical country) vs in the fridge / freezer?
Hi Karyn! Store leftovers in a well-sealed container in the refrigerator up to 1 week or in the freezer up to 1 month.
Seg. says
Thank you so much for this free download recipes book ! Love it :) Such beautiful pictures !
April says
Thanks for helping me trick my partner into not only eating healthy food, but *feasting* on it.
TJ Duffy says
Hi. I made energy bites with similar ingredients (dates, cashews, cocoa powder, sea salt, and vanilla) but the results were really greasy and wet in the end. Do you know what causes this? What’s needed to make energy ball/bites a bit more dry and crispy? Thanks!
Hmm, did you soak the dates? If you soak them instead of getting fresh, sticky dates, that can be the problem.
TJ says
Yes! I did soak them for about 5 minutes (the recipe I used included that step). I’ll definitely try with normal, fresh, sticky dates though… Also, would adding seeds or even rolled oats add to the “crunch factor”? Or, is there any other things you recommend adding to energy bite mixes? Thanks so much!
Margarida Maria Leal says
I did it today! This is Marvelous!
I put it in my son school bag lunch. i think he will love it!
Thanks a lot for the recipe!!!
Jessica says
LOVE! Super yum and love that there are just 4 ingredients. Recipe was perfect! 100 times better than the store bought stuff. THANKS.
Love to hear it. Thanks, Jessica!
Andy says
Just made these; they’re really lovely! Turned out just as I hoped they would. Next time I’d go with just adding water to bind it as mine have ended up a little strong on the date front, but otherwise perfect.
Katie says
Just tried these… Love them! my 5 year daughter has already ate 3, can’t wait to try them on my son!
Joelle says
I absolutely LOVE Larabars.. this is a great idea and I can’t wait to make this!! Your recipes look delicious, especially those pancakes :D
destinabella@hotmail.com says
I came across your blog thru Cup of Jo and have really enjoyed perusing it. It’s exactly how I try to cook/bake- few ingredients, few pots and pans and as healthy as I can get it. I look forward to seeing what else you cook up!
-diane
Thanks! Glad to find a fellow lover of simple cooking : )
rose says
i tried to make these in a blender but the mixture wouldn’t ‘smoosh’.. so i dug out an old food processor and used that. oh, also i added a teaspoon of honey to my mix.
thank you so much for this recipe!
Lovely! Thanks for sharing!
Lauren says
How do I do this without a food processor? Can I use a normal blender?
A blender should work fine, it’ll just be a little more difficult to scoop out.
Katie says
These ingredients rock my face. And can I just tell you how much I adore that you put them on lollipop sticks? I adore it.
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
Yummy! I love this idea… could you imagine these dipped in dark chocolate? They could be dressed up in so many different ways, but still so healthy! I gotta try something like this :)