making my own snack bars - would you please critique my ingredients?

[dudsville]

I've been wanting to make my own snack bars. I've looked over several recipes and pulled out the ingredients I like the sound of. I really don't want to add honey or a syrup. Will these hold well enough?

Peanut butter
oates
Chopped dates
Chopped almonds
dried cranberries
probably chocolate chips

They will hold together, just make sure to start with the wet ingredients first, and only add dry until it won't hold

I'd be tempted to soak the dates briefly in boiling water, then drain before blending with the peanut butter. Then as pp said, add the dry stuff only up to the point that it's still adhering.

Take the peanut butter and dates (chopped finely) put on a saucepan with a splash of orange juice or water. You could even add a generous knob of normal butter. This will then aid setting and firming up. Cook out until you’ve made a sloppy mess. This will help to adhere all the dry ingredients. Hope this helps.

Thanks both. Spinach, will the brief soak in boiling water increase the holding power?

Thanks koo. Can't wait to make these!

Ime yes, soaking seems to loosen and soften the dates - just makes them stickier.

Try adding some seeds next time as they are really good for you and work perfectly in snack bars.

I've found when making things with dates as the 'glue' it depends on the type of dates as to their binding power. These are the ones I've tried so far.

Medjool dates give the smoothest texture but they are expensive.

Soft dates e.g. Sainsbury's www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries/sainsburys-dates--ready-to-eat-250g and Tesco preview.tinyurl.com/y42weacv work very well.
Sainsbury's organic are a bit better than the ordinary ones, but more expensive.

Morrison's dried dates and Whitworths have a completely different taste and completely different flavour and they're not very sticky.

Do you have a food processor? A quick snack I enjoy is
One mug of soft dates
Three-quarters of a mug of pecans
One quarter of a mug of ground whole almonds (use the processor to do this first)
Half a teaspoon of cinnamon
One teaspoon of ground ginger.

Put all the above into your processor, blitz and form into balls.
Try not to eat the whole lot in a day

Mmm, I'm going to add cinnamon and toasted seeds.