Copycat Almond Cashew Coconut Chai KIND Bars

As a birth doula, I rely fairly heavily on bars and other fast forms of caloric intake between double hip squeezes and other means of supporting my clients.  I eyed the Almond Cashew Coconut Chai bar at Starbucks and knew I'd appreciate that gem in my doula bag.  When the time came to consume my bar, I was not disappointed.  

Because my kids generally have an aversion to anything that I have painstakingly prepared for them, and because we are out an about quite a bit, I keep a steady supply for KIND bars on hand for snacks and those moments where I have to trick myself into thinking that it's a somewhat acceptable meal replacement.  I wanted to get this chai KIND bar in my rotation and it looks like I'm not the only one.  I found forums where this was the topic of conversation.  It turns out you can buy them individually at Starbucks with their mark-up or you can purchase a case of 72 from KIND.  I like them, but 72 is a lot to have on hand and my husband would certainly think I flew the cookoo's nest purchasing $100 worth of kind bars in one sitting.  

Did you know you can find almost anything on pinterest?  You can.  I found this little copycat recipe for Almond Coconut KIND bars and compared the "syrup" with other KIND copycat recipes I found.  So I had a good base for adaptation.  Chai spice was a little more tricky.  I couldn't find a prepared version in any of the markets I tried, so I found another pinterest recipe for Chai Spice and now we were getting somewhere.  Here's the recipe:  

Almond Cashew Coconut Chai KIND Bar

Ingredients:

Chai Spice Blend:

1 tsp. Ground Cardamom

1 tsp. Ground Allspice

2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

1 tsp. Ground Cloves

3 tsp. Ground Ginger

This will make a surplus of chai spice, but, trust me, you will want to make these again.

Nut Mixture:

1 C. Roasted and Unsalted Almonds

1 C. Roasted and Unsalted Cashews

2 C. Unsweetened, Shredded Coconut

1 Tbsp. Ground Flaxseed

Syrup:
1/2 C. Honey
1/3 C. Brown Rice Syrup
1 tsp. Chai Spice Blend
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/4 tsp. Salt

Instructions:

Grease a 9x9 baking dish.

Add toasted almonds, coconut and flax to large bowl.  Stir to combine; set aside.

In 1-1/2 or 2 quart saucepan, combine honey, rice syrup, chai spice, salt, and vanilla over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until mixture reaches 260 degrees (hard ball stage) on a candy thermometer. Immediately, pour mixture over nut mixture, stir until evenly coated.

Quickly transfer to greased/sprayed 9x13 pan, use hands to spread mixture evenly in pan; press the mixture to close in holes and distribute evenly all over the pan. Using bottom of greased/sprayed drinking glass to tap and compact mixture in pan. Let cool 20 minutes (pan should still be slightly warm).

The original instructions say to invert pan on cutting board and tap until mixture falls out in one piece. I had to give my bars a little more help.  Cut into bars. (If they cool too much and become too hard or brittle to cut easily, put in warm oven for 1-2 minutes to soften; proceed with cutting.)

 STORAGE TIPS: Allow to cool completely before transferring to airtight storage container with parchment paper between layers. For take-along convenience, use parchment paper pieces to wrap individual bars burrito-style. Store at room temperature for up to 1 week. May refrigerate to extend storage or if firmer, less sticky bars are preferred. May be frozen.

Makes approximately 20 bars.