Who doesn’t enjoy a good power bar? One that is easy to travel with and renders a healthy snack on the go?
These gluten free Espresso Power Bars have a delicious espresso-chocolate-vanilla-ish flavor that makes them equally satisfying as a snack or dessert. I found mine were just a tad crumbly, you may need to add a dash of water to help yours hold together well.
Chocolate Espresso Power Bars
Ingredients
- 1½ cups pecans, lightly toasted
- ¼ cup cacao powder
- 2 teaspoons organic decaf coffee beans, espresso grind
- 10 large dates (remove pits)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 10 drops stevia
- 1 tablespoon agave nectar or honey
Instructions
- Blend pecans, cacao and espresso in food processor until finely ground
- Add pitted dates and process until blended into dry ingredients
- Process in vanilla, stevia and agave until well combined
- Press mixture into an 8 x 8 inch baking dish, add a little water if your batter is crumbly when handling
- Freeze for 2 hours, then cut into squares
I adapted this recipe from one featured in a Daily Camera article on Pam Vaginieres and her protein bars.
I will be heading up to the mountains tomorrow to appear on Good Morning Vail (television show at 9:40am MST) where I will chat with Tricia Swenson and demo two gluten free recipes from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook (Smoked Salmon Leek Tart and Chocolate Chip Cookies).
Later that evening you can find me at The Bookworm in Edwards, Colorado at 6pm. I will be holding a book discussion and signing from 6-8pm. Tickets are $25, which includes wine and gluten free appetizers from my book. Proceeds benefit the Gore Range Natural Science School.
Debbie Lynne says
Elana and others….
I’m looking for a chocolate-kale chip recipe. I just found some of these wonder-yummies at Whole Foods and they were wonderful (and expensive), but I’m not sure how to do them and get them the right crispy with the chocolate coating.
Elana, you and your kale chips came to mind.
Patty says
I forgot to add one other item. I didn’t have any instant coffee aside from my husband’s Folgers, so like another commenter, I ground some regular coffee beans VERY finely & used that. Very nice.
Patty says
I made these a few weeks ago & since I find comments helpful thought I would add mine. These are delicious & to my taste, very rich (in a good way). I left out the stevia & they are just fine. In fact with the dates, I might be inclined to leave out the agave nectar next time. I’m storing these in the freezer cut into small squares. They make a very tasty cold bite with a LOT of flavor. I will definitely make these again. Thanks so much for all your recipes. I’ve eliminated sugar as much as I possibly can these days & do look for ways to get a bit of unprocessed sweetness in a snack that I won’t feel bad about on occasion.
Kenna says
I just made these yesterday. I don’t have a food processor, so I used the Vitamix (this was actually the first thing the vitamix has had trouble blending, but it turned out ok). I didn’t have stevia, and I accidentally forgot the agave, but they still taste plenty sweet with the dates. They were a little crumbly when i tried to get them out of the dish straight out of the freezer. I’m a little confused on how to store them, in the freezer or fridge?
Overall,the blend of pecans, dates, cocoa and espresso make for a quite tasty snack.
elana says
I store mine in the fridge :-)
marla {family fresh cooking} says
I make bars quite a bit like these Elana – way better than store bought any day!
Amelia says
Hi,
I can’t eat nuts so is there something I can replace the pecans with?
Thanks,
Amelia
Kristina says
I always hate when I read a blog post on a recipe that SOUNDS good..and LOOKS good…and has a thousand comments left saying how good it looks and sounds but with no actual feedback.
SO..here I am to give my feedback on a couple of recipes I made tonight for a hike I am going on tomorrow.
These are yummy. I actually omitted the espresso (I am pregnant and hypersensitive to caffeine so stick to chocolate as my source), the stevia, agave, and only put a pinch of vanilla in because after blending up the nuts, cocoa, and dried fruits (had to use apricots and golden raisins because I used all my dates on another recipe of yours:) I tasted it and was delighted just the way it was.
So I guess I can’t really give feedback on this precise recipe..but it was a great base to work with and was very pleased that I could substitute things with what was hanging out in my cupboards without compromising taste.
I will definitely try these again and keep to the recipe (besides the espresso) to get the actual experience you intended for.
Thank you so much for the delicious power bar insight!!
Michele L Sirois says
I am with you Kristina! It’s not very helpful for the readers when people just make supportive comments about the author’s picture and recipe based on looking at it. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve made that particular thing and it flopped! Or is someone makes 5 substitutions for a 7 ingredient recipe! And then I ask a specific question about my experience and no one answers (like my question over a month ago asking if anyone had a recommendation for finding the finely ground organic decaf espresso online since I was unable to find it locally or at a decent price online.). Thanks for the feedback…..it will help me decide if I want to make them without the espresso. Good luck with the pregnancy, Kristina!
julie says
Hi Michele – I’m trying this recipe today (at some point, I hope). My plan is to use regular coffee and just grind it extra fine, then pack it into the measuring spoon – much like I would do if actually making espresso. I really don’t think it’s necessary to special order it. Hope that helps. I’ll try to remember to post my results!
Michele L Sirois says
Thanks Julie! – sounds like a good plan! Good luck &, yes, please post results if you can!!
Michele S says
Anyone have a recommendation for finding the finely ground organic decaf espresso online? No local stores carry it and, where I found it online, the shipping costs were prohibitive…as much as the espresso itself!
elana says
I buy organic espresso beans at Whole Foods and grind them at the store on the fine setting. They’re super fresh. I keep the ground espresso bean in the freezer for optimum freshness. Hope this helps :-)
Lisa says
I made these for my roller derby team the week of and the day of our championship bout. They were a huge success! Thank you!
Emery says
We made these bars and they’re delicious! What is the best way to store them? Do they need to be kept in the freezer or is the refrigerator okay? Thanks!