Janet' Copycat Larabars (Raw Food)

I created this recipe by experimenting first with the Copy Cat Lara Bar found here at Recipezaar by vigilant20 #347784, but the ratio of 1 cup dates to 3 cups nuts didn't hold together for me. This recipe will be divided in half in order to make two differently flavored bars! I have listed "Cherry Coconut" and "Oatmeal Cookie Dough". I like to have texture in my Lara Bars, and if you do too, make sure you don't put ALL the nuts into your food processor at the same time!

• Ready In: 5 hrs 20 mins
• Serves: 14-16
• Yields: 14-16 bars

Ingredients

• 2  cups pitted dates, separated
• 1 1⁄2 cups cashews, soaked for two hours separated
• 1 1⁄2 cups walnuts, soaked for two hours separated
• 2  tablespoons flax seeds
• 1⁄2 cup  shredded coconut
• 1⁄2 cup dried cherries
• 1⁄2 cup oatmeal
• 1⁄3 cup  chopped  dried apricot
• 1  teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Equipment: Food processor or blender, cutting board and chopping knife, 2 medium sized bowls, measuring cup and spoons, waxed paper or parchment paper.
2. Soak nuts for two to three hours.
3. Put 1 cup of dates, 1 cup of cashews and 1 cup of walnuts into a bowl and mix them together.
4. Chop and grind them in your food processor in batches. Get the mixture to a meal like consistency and return to bowl.
5. On your cutting board coarsely chop the remaining nuts and add to the bowl.
6. In the food processor, grind your remaining one cup of pitted dates to a paste; add to the bowl.
7. Add flax and hemp seeds to bowl with nuts and dates and mix together well.
8. Divide Date/ Nut mixture equally into two bowls.
9. Into one bowl mix your shredded coconut and dried cherries. If you are using un-sweetened coconut, you may want to add some maple syrup or agave nectar, one tablespoon at a time, to your taste.
10. Add the remaining three ingredients to the other bowl and mix well.
11. Turn each mixture out onto a longish piece of waxed paper and form into a long rectangle about four inches wide and 1/2 inch thick.
12. Wrap up in the waxed paper and refrigerate four a couple of hours before cutting off your first bar.