Fruit & Nut Breakfast Bars

Fruit & Nut Breakfast Bars are slightly different from other bars. This is an energy bar you can eat at any time.

Ingredients

¼ cup orange juice

½ cup whole Medjool dates

1 cup whole raw almonds with skins

½ cup dried apricots

¼ cup dried plums

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds

¼ cup raw sunflower seeds

Method

1. Preheat oven to 300°. Pour orange juice over dates and let soak 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, place almonds, dried apricots, and dried plums in a food processor and pulse a few times until coarsely chopped. Add salt and dates with orange juice and pulse until mixture starts to stick together. Add pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, pulsing a few times just to incorporate.

3. Using wet hands, scoop mixture onto a work surface and form into a log about 1 3/4 in. wide and 1/2 in. thick. Use your palms to flatten into a bar, and cut bar into 8 equal pieces.

4. Arrange pieces about 1 in. apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes. Using a heatproof spatula, turn bars over and bake another 8 minutes, or until nuts are toasted (but before fruit begins to burn). Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Serves

8 Bars