This combination of almond, chocolate, and dried cherries made it’s first debut on the long-gone blog I wrote in college. That blog has long since been folded, a decision that was made on a whim following some bad advice, but if you really do some digging, you can still find the 2010/2011 remnants on Way Back Machine.

The original was a cookie bar — made without eggs, because my mom never seemed to have eggs in the fridge, so my signature cookie bar recipe was a bit like a soft shortbread made with brown sugar for a more classic chocolate chip cookie taste. It called for dried cherries, chocolate, and white chocolate. When I pressed my blog in 2011 before leaving to study abroad, it was the one recipe I was emailed for. #humblebrag

Luckily, before I hit “delete” on that site, I printed off all of my favorite recipes, and glued them into a black notebook. My cookbook.

In 2014, three years later, when I picked up blogging again, recreating a healthier version of those cookie bars was high on my to do list. These bars call for almond butter and almond flour, which build the dense, fudgy base. Eggs keep everything together. And honey gives a sweet edge where refined sugars did heavy lifting in the original. I skip white chocolate these days, because why eat white chocolate when you can eat dark chocolate?! But, if variety is the spice of your life, feel free to use half white chocolate and half dark chocolate (1/4 cup each). I use the dried cherries from Costco for this recipe, however if you can’t find dried cherries you could also use dried cranberries (I have often seen cranberries sweetened with cherry juice, which would mimic cherries in this recipe quite well).

Grain-Free Chocolate Cherry Cookie Bars

Published June 26, 2014 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 16 | Active Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup almond butter

2 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled

1/4 cup honey

2 eggs

2 cups almond flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or chopped up dark chocolate bar

1/2 cup dried cherries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F, and line a 9x9 inch baking dish with parchment paper.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine almond butter, butter, honey, and eggs. Stir until smooth.
Add almond flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir to make a stiff batter.
Fold in chocolate and cherries until evenly distributed.
Press better into an even layer in the baking dish, and then bake for 20-25 minutes. Cookie bars should be golden and slightly puffed.
Allow to cool 10 minutes. Slice into 16 squares and serve. Store in airtight container at room temperature or in fridge.