Place dates in a bowl and cover with hot water. Let sit for 10 minutes. *see notes

Drain water from dates and then remove pits from the dates. Transfer pitted dates to a food processor along with the walnuts. Process until there are no chunks of dates. Some chunks of walnuts are fine.

Next, add the cocoa powder, ground flax seeds and chia seeds. Process until completely combined.

Transfer mixture to a bowl and add the dark chocolate chips, 1/2 cup of shredded coconut and the dried cherries. Mix until completely combined.

Lightly grease an 8 x 8 square baking dish and line with parchment paper. The parchment paper should be big enough to cover the bottom and sides of the pan and also come out of the pan a bit so you can easily pull the mixture out once cooled.

Transfer mixture to prepared pan and press down to make an even surface. Top with the last 1/4 cup of shredded coconut. 

Cover with foil and place in the refrigerator to cool for at least an hour. I recommend chilling them overnight for a firmer texture but they're still great after chilling for just an hour!

Remove from the refrigerator and pull the parchment paper out with the chilled bar mixture. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to a week.