I need your advice

Usually when I make food, I take yummy ingredients and combine them to make an even yummier combination.  That was not the case with my date cookies.  I couldn’t stop snacking on the dates before I put them in the food processor.  My boss told me that one of her friends says that dates are a good replacement for chocolate and to be honest, I have to agree.  Unfortunately, when I mixed them with the yummy ingredients below it came out lackluster.

I have to admit, I don’t love all Lara bars.  The only one I love is the coconut cream pie and so I was trying to come up with a homemade version.  I definitely failed in that attempt.  So, I ask you readers-what did I do wrong?  I’ve posted the recipe below, please give me your suggestions!  Do you have a recipe for the coconut cream pie Lara bars? Do you know what ingredient brought down my dish?  In the meantime, I think I’m going to stick to eating dates by themselves.


Date cookies
adapted from Pea Soup Eats

1/2 cup coconut, toasted
1 cup dates, remove seeds and quarter
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1/8 cup chia seeds
2 Tablespoon cocoa powder
1/4 cup whole raw pistachios
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and toast the coconut for 5-10 minutes.  Pulse the dates in the  food processor until it becomes a ball.  Add the coconut oil, chia seeds, cocoa powder, pistachios, toasted coconut and vanilla extract.  Pulse until combined.

Turn the ball out onto waxed paper.  Cover with another sheet of waxed paper and roll until flattened.  Cut out cookies the size and shape you’d like.   Wrap each cookie in waxed paper and chill for a few hours.

Cals (per cookie for 30 cookies): Cals: 31, Fat: 1, Carb: 5, Fiber: 1, Protein: 1