Important life lesson: You can never have enough healthy hand-held snacks. Or, ya know, chocolate. You definitely can never have enough chocolate.
After absolutely loving the results of these homemade granola bars and these Copycat Clif bars, I turned my sights to another one of my favorite snacks – KIND bars! Dark chocolate cherry cashew KIND bars, to be exact. Can you tell I’m a crazy bar fiend? I love these bars in particular because they’re hand-held and convenient, but also made with real, healthy ingredients. Plus, did I mention chocolate? But whenever I love something so much, my food-blogger brain starts pondering if I could maybe, maybe make it at home. And maybe even make it more delicious, cheaper, and real-food-filled?
In this case, the answer was a resounding yes. We absolutely loved these copycat dark chocolate cherry cashew KIND bars. They’re sweet, crunchy, chewy, and chocolate-y – literally everything I want in an afternoon pick-me-up. Plus, I was totally impressed (if I do say so myself) with how IDENTICAL these look to the real thing!! These bars seriously come together in no time, and undeniably taste better than the packaged version. I’m a total homemade KIND bar convert! You all need this healthy, delicious snack in your life.
- 1/3 cup honey
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- 1/3 cup almond meal (you can also make this by grinding up almonds in a food processor)
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. almond butter
- 1 cup whole unsalted almonds, roughly chopped
- 1 cup whole unsalted cashews, roughly chopped
- ½ cup dried cherries, roughly chopped
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips
- ½ tbsp. coconut oil
- Preheat your oven to 300°F. Line an 8x8 inch square baking dish with parchment paper, leaving enough parchment hanging off to grip at least two sides. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the honey, vanilla, almond meal, salt, and almond butter with a rubber spatula. Add in the almonds, cashews, and dried cherries; stir until combined. Spoon into the prepared baking dish and press very firmly into an even layer, making sure to press into all the corners. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Cool at room temperature for an hour, then move to the fridge for another hour to cool completely. Slice into 12 bars. In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the dark chocolate chips with the coconut oil. Melt in 20 second intervals, stirring every time, until the chocolate is just melted and drizzle-able. Drizzle the chocolate over the bars, then return to the fridge for at least another 30 minutes to allow the chocolate to harden. Store in the fridge in an air-tight container, separating layers of bars with wax paper.
- These can be stored at room temperature, but I highly recommend refrigerating them. The chocolate gets really melty and sticky at room temperature and the bars tend to fall apart a bit. Refrigerator is the way to go!
Looking for more homemade healthy snacks?
Tropical White Chocolate Coconut Granola Bars
White Chocolate Cherry Almond Energy Bars
Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Energy Bites
