Coffee Lover’s Energy Bar
I love my daily cup o’ coffee – um, make that cups of coffee.  Yes, I’m a coffee junkie! In fact, coffee is one of the things I think about when I’m planning day long outings far away from civilization and my coffee machine. It was on one of our breaks on a recent kayak trip that had me thinking about adding coffee into our snacks.
My first attempt involved using strongly brewed coffee instead of water in the Chocolate Almond Energy Bar. That worked pretty well. But I wanted to go one step further and make an energy bar that was all about the coffee. This latest recipe does the trick, the coffee flavor is strong and true without being masked by chocolate or intense sweetness.
The fact that this is a no bake energy bar and features nothing but nuts, seeds, oats, dried fruits and espresso makes it even more awesome.
Coffee Lovers Energy Bar
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1/4 cup pepitas
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 2 Tbsp flax seed
- 1/2 cup oats I use large flake
- 2/3 cup dates about 24 medjool dates
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1 1/2 Tbsp instant espresso powder
- 1-2 Tbsp water
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine all ingredients except water.
- Process until ingredients are a fine crumb.
- With food processor running, drizzle in as much water as is needed to bring ingredients together to form clumps.
- Pour mix into an 8x8 square pan lined with parchment paper.
- Press firmly and evenly into pan. It should be about 1/3 inch (1 cm) thick.
- To get the top smooth, use a small glass to roll the top of the bars.
- Place in fridge to cool and set for at least 2 hours.
- Use parchment paper to lift square out of pan.
- Use a pizza cutter to slice bars into preferred size.
- For bars to go, wrap individually in wax paper.
Notes
Bars can be frozen in an airtight container.
I made these bars in the 8×8 square pan from my brand new Baker’s Secret Easy Store baking set that I received from World Kitchen.  I’ve been using this set for about a month now and I’ve been impressed at how non-stick theses non-stick pans have been. Baked squash, macaroni and cheese, brownies, baked granola bars, toasted almonds – they’ve all cooked beautifully and every pan cleaned up very easily.
In fact, the only reason to use parchment paper in this no cook energy bar recipe is to easily lift the bars out of the pan.
Having new baking pans is a nice treat. Thanks to World Kitchen who compensated me monetarily and with a new set of easy to store Baker’s Secret bakeware.
Getty is a coffee junkie who likes to encourage people to have fun and try new things in the kitchen.  Her writing, speaking and workshops are filled with laughter, tasty recipes, time-saving tips, and helpful kitchen ideas to make home cooking easy and enjoyable. She is a Professional Home Economist, author of Manitoba’s best-selling Prairie Fruit Cookbook, Founder of Fruit Share, mom and veggie gardener.
I just discovered these energy ball recipes and wish I had known about them earlier! I made them with children aging 5 to 8 years old in a cooking class last weekend. We used dried apricots, oatmeal, dates, coconut oil and vanilla. The kids loved them and did a fabulous job. The flavor possibilities seem endless and I’m eager to try your coffee bar recipe. Thank you!
Such a great snack for kids and to make with kids. I’ve been using the non-caffeine energy bites in workshop with kids for years. Always a hit.
That was a great trip for an educational conference!