If you have a Trader Joe’s in your area and you haven’t tried their 5 seed almond bars, I highly recommend you pick some up! My mother in law introduced me to this delicious treat, and I am obsessed. My son LOVES them, and it is always a really nice surprise when she decides to leave a few behind at our house after watching the little one. One of these bars in the morning with your cup of coffee is the perfect breakfast, and for me, they never get old.
I have been wanting to attempt recreating these bars for the longest time, and I finally got around to it on this rainy weekend. It wasn’t my plan for today. I woke up with a brilliant idea that I was going to go to T.J. Maxx and do all of my Christmas shopping. ALL OF IT. I was determined. It seems like November and December just get busier every year, and I was hoping to get ahead of the game and reduce some holiday stress. Well folks, don’t ever go to a T.J Maxx on a Saturday if you don’t love a crowd. I ended up having a mild panic attack, ditching my cart, and leaving empty handed in less than two minutes. Thank God Dylan wasn’t with me, or he may have just passed out on the floor. We are only a tiny bit dramatic when it comes to going shopping. Since I basically just drove all the way across town to turn around and come home, my little one was still napping when I made it back. I decided to make these delicious bars to redeem my rainy Saturday!
These bars are so easy to make, but you probably don’t have what you need lying around in the pantry. If you do, I am really impressed. It is a bit of an investment upfront to purchase all the ingredients, but the good news is that once you do, you’ll be stocked to make these almond bars again and again. The texture of this bar is a little different than the originals, but I love the way they turned out. The flavor is definitely there, and I can’t wait for my mother in law to try one. I hope you will too! In the meantime, go pick up a pack at Trader Joe’s.
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5 Seed Almond Bars (Trader Joe’s Copycat)
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 16 bars 1x
Description
Soft and chewy bars made with whole wheat flour and packed with five different seeds (flax, pumpkin, poppy, sunflower, and brown sesame) This a Trader Joe’s copycat recipe. Healthy and delicious!
Ingredients
To be processed:
- 2/3 cup almonds
- 4 pitted medjool dates
Dry ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
Wet ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix ins:
- 1/4 cup rolled old fashioned oats
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
- 2 teaspoons sunflower seeds
- 2 teaspoons flax seeds
- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
- 2 teaspoons brown sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray or vegetable oil.
- Process the almonds and dates on high speed in a food processor for around 10 seconds, then set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt).
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the melted butter, vegetable oil, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs to the wet ingredients (one at a time) and mix until just combined.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the vanilla followed by the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients a little at a time until fully incorporated.
- Add the reserved almond/date mixture and “mix-ins” (oats, honey, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, poppy seeds, and brown sesame seeds) and continue to mix on low speed until evenly combined.
- Spread the batter evenly in the baking dish.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Place the pan on a cooling rack on the counter and allow to cool for 10 minutes, cut the bars, remove from the pan and allow to continue cooling on the rack for as long as you care to wait 😉
Equipment
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Cuisineart 14-Cup Food Processor
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Notes
- This recipe is easy, but there are A LOT of ingredients. Make sure you gather everything you need before you get started.
- Oven temperatures can vary. Check the bars around 15 minutes, but bake until you can insert a toothpick and remove it dry.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Bars
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: almond, seeds, bars
could you replace chia seed for poppy seeds?
Most definitely!! Let me know if you give it a try 😊
Not exactly a copy cat. TJ calories is 100 per bar.
★★★
😆 such a fair point! I didn’t even think about the calorie content, and was just going for flavor. I’ll have to play around with them and see if I can cut the calories. Thank you for pointing that out! Did you try the bars? I’d love to get more feedback.
Ok, so yummy! Better than the TJ bars in my opinion!
★★★★★
Yay! Love these bars so much. Last time I went to the store they were out so I’m glad I have this recipe ☺️ thanks for giving them a try!
Can you use almond butter and date paste instead? I don’t have a food processor 🙁
What a great idea!! I’ve never worked with date paste so I don’t really know the consistency. I will pick some up and check it out. Let me know if you give it a try in the meantime, but I will definitely get back to you. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful right now, but thanks for checking out the recipe!☺️