April 30, 2013

Mango Ginger Black Sesame Larabars and a giveaway winner!

You're probably thinking Larabars aGAIN?! I know I just did a big long post about homemade larabars last week, and I don't mean to be predictable or repetitive, but you see, I am just a little obsessed. I have turned into a Larabar-making and EATING machine as of late, and I can't quite contain my enthusiasm for these deceptively easy-to-make treats that taste so good. I'll keep it short and sweet since we already went through the process last week and I have a special announcement to get to, ahem!

So before we get to the recipe, thank you all so much to everyone who entered my April giveaway. I appreciate the effort you all made in introducing new people to my blog and I only wish I had a prize for every single one of you! And welcome welcome welcome to all the new people who have landed here via a friend or family member. Now without further ado, I'm very pleased to announce the lucky winner of the sunshine yellow Le Creuset French Oven is... Brooke van Mossel-Forrester! Congratulations and enjoy your new pot!! Please use the 'contact me' link on the right sidebar to send me a little note to claim your prize and provide me with your mailing address so that I can pass it on to the fine folks at Le Creuset who will send you your lovely sunshine pot. Thank you Le Creuset for sponsoring this wonderful giveaway! And stay tuned for tomorrow's blogpost announcing my May giveaway, because it's a tasty one!


MANGO GINGER BLACK SESAME BARS
1 1/2 cup chopped dried unsulfured and unsweetened mango
1/4 cup chopped dried unsulfured and unsweetened apricots
1/4 cup chopped candied ginger
2 cups pecans
Fresh squeezed juice from one lime
1/4 cup black sesame seeds

Dried mango can be a little leathery so to soften it up, cut it into pieces (I used scissors for this) and squeeze the juice of one lime on top. Using your hands, mix the two to ensure all the mango is coated in lime juice. Allow to sit on the counter for about 15 minutes or longer.

Chop the pecans in the food processor until they are roughly ground (should look like breadcrumbs but bigger pieces of pecans are ok too). Do not over-process them or they will turn to nut butter and your bars will be very oily, I made this mistake on my first attempt, though they were still just as delicious!

Put the ground pecans in a separate bowl, leaving about 1/2 cup in the food processor. Add the chopped mango and lime juice, candied ginger, and apricots. Process everything until roughly pureed. The mixture will likely turn into a big ball of thick gooey paste and in that case you can stop the processor, break it up with a spatula and then keep blending. Once you have a relatively consistent paste (small chunks of mango are ok), add it to the bowl of chopped pecans and mix the two with your hands until you have a uniform paste. Press this into a 8 x 8 inch pan with wax paper on the bottom. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top. (You can toast the sesames lightly on low-medium  heat in a frying pan first to bring out their flavour if you like). Cool down for about an hour or two in the fridge (or 30 minutes in the freezer) and then slice into bars or squares. You can wrap them up individually in wax or parchment paper if you like. They will keep for about a month, especially if they are refrigerated.



13 comments:

  1. It is my great pleasure to visit your website and to enjoy your excellent post here. I like that very much.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Debbie, come again soon :-)

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  2. Will you make these for me when you get to Maine?!!!

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  3. I love Larabars. Thank you!

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  4. Where would find unsulfured fruit for this recipe?
    Thank you

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    1. Hi Jeanette, you can fin unsulfured fruit in any health food store usually, or at Whole Foods... but the sulfured fruit works too, it's a personal preference (for health reasons) - good luck and enjoy the recipe! :-)

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  5. Made these last week and took some on a few bike rides this weekend - excellent refueling snack! Thanks for the recipe!

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    1. Hi Anne, I'm so glad they provided good fuel for your bike expeditions :-) Thanks for sharing. Makes me want to make these again and go for a bike ride!

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  6. Hi! thanks for putting up this recipe! it's nice that it doesn't have dates in it as there seems to be a lot of no bake slices/ bliss balls done that way. the lime with the mango is a really nice touch. the recipe is great! You must put this in your cookbook for sure!

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  7. love it! I'm doing it for my boys (big one and little one) :)

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