This lemon “larabar” recipe can be dressed up as the title implies. The bars can also be made quickly if the plan is to bring these on an afternoon hike or outing. Whatever your plan for consuming these bars, the end result is delicious. I first made these for my wife when we were dating. She was complaining about not having decent snacks while studying. Seeing an opening to lay the groundwork for being a trophy husband, I made these for her and the rest is history. The saying that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, it goes both ways. On to the recipe.
Lemon Larabar Ramblings
This recipe can be easily adapted for whatever flavor combination you prefer. If cherry pie is your favorite flavor, the recipe can be tweaked to accommodate that. However, given how much groceries cost these days, you’re probably better off just buying a bar premade from the store. That said, dates, almonds, and lemons haven’t skyrocketed in price as eggs have. From a cost perspective, this recipe makes financial sense for now.
What doesn’t make sense is buying pre-pitted medjool dates. I purchased a 16oz container of dates from trader joe’s for $5 bucks. A 12oz container of pre-pitted dates cost $6. One might think that the pits make up the difference in weight between the two containers. The pits for a pound of dates weighs 1oz.
So next time you’re debating buying the pre-pitted pack, just know you’re paying more for less. And unless you’re making the kind of money my wife does, it doesn’t make financial sense for you to buy the pre-pitted pack to save time.
Actual Recipe Notes
For the lemon larabar, getting the lemon flavor to come through is key. Soaking the lemon zest in lemon juice helps to intensify the flavor and bring the lemon through the sweetness of the dates. Additionally, soaking the dates in a mixture of lemon juice and hot water will help impart the lemon flavor.
First, pit the dates and place them in a large bowl. Next, zest the lemons and place the zest in a small container. Cover the zest with lemon juice. Squeeze the remaining lemon juice into the bowl with the pits. Cover the dates the rest of the way with boiling water and let sit for ten minutes.
While the dates are softening, place the almonds in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is finely ground. Strain the lemon zest and add to the almond mixture. Next, drain the dates and pat dry. Add the dates to the food processor. Next, blend the mixture until well combined. The mix should form a ball and start spinning around the blade.
Remove the mixture from the food processor and place it on a piece of wax paper. Press the mixture into a square container or shape using a bench scraper. Place the shaped mixture in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up. After the mixture is firm, cut it into desired size pieces and serve.
Fancy Options for your Lemon Larabar
These lemon larabars are delicious as-is. If you want to dress them up a bit, candied lemon slices are the way to achieve this. Combine 1 cup of sugar with one cup of water and bring to a boil. Thinly slice a lemon. Reduce heat and bring the mixture to a simmer. Next, add the lemon slices and cook for 15 minutes. Stir the mixture occasionally and flip lemon slices over at least once halfway through.
Transfer the lemon slices to a piece of wax paper to cool and cut to the desired shape and size. The slices will fall apart if you cut them before cooking. I learned this the hard way as you can see above. Next, top the bars with the candied lemon slices and serve. Reserve the lemon syrup for later use. Potentially as a syrup in a lemon and blueberry babka. The double chocolate babka recipe I’ve posted can be tweaked to make this. If you know of another good use, let me know in the comments!
Variations on this recipe are easy to do. Add half a cup of your desired fruit and half a cup of almonds to the recipe below and remove the lemon zest from the mixture. The ratio of fruit to nuts should be around 1:1. Using pecans, hazelnuts or any other nut works well. But as I stated earlier, costs are going up. I’ve found almonds to be the cheapest option available. Enjoy!
Lemon Larabar Recipe
Equipment
- Food Processor
- Fine mesh sieve
Ingredients
- 3 lemons
- 1 cup Medjool Dates (10-12 dates)
- 1 cup almonds, raw
Candied Lemons (optional)
- 200 grams granulated sugar (1 cup)
- 237 ml Water (1 cup)
Instructions
Bars
- Zest two lemons and place the zest in a bowl.
- Cover the lemon zest with lemon juice and leave to rest for 10 minutes
- Pull the pits out of the dates and place the pitted dates in a bowl.
- Squeeze half of a lemon into the bowl with the pitted dates and cover the rest of the dates with hot water to soften the dates. Soak the dates for 5 minutes.
- Place 1 cup of raw almonds in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the almonds are finely ground.
- Drain the lemon zest through a mesh sieve or cheese cloth and add zest to the ground almonds in the food processor
- Drain the softened dates and pat dry to wring out moisture. Add the dates to the food processor with the almond mixture.
- Mix until fully incorporated and the mixture starts spinning around the blade in a large piece.
- Remove the mixture from the food processor and place on a piece of wax paper. Press the mixture into a square container and set in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes.
- After chilling, remove from the container and cut into 20 equal squares. Consume and store any lefotvers in the fridge;
Candied Lemon (optional)
- Add the sugar and water to a sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Once the water is boiling, reduce heat to low-medium, add the sliced lemons to the pan and let simmer for 15 minutes, flipping the lemon pieces halfway through cooking.
- Once lemon rind is soft and can easily be pierced with a fork, slices are done. Remove from the heat and transfer the slices to a piece of wax paper to cool.
- Cut the candied lemon slices as desired and place on top of the lemon larabars.
- Serve the fancy lemon larabars and store any leftovers tightly covered in the fride for up to 1 week.
