Whole Food Chocolate Donut Snack Bites (or cookies!)
Sometimes I get this overwhelming thought "wait, what if this really tastes terrible and I'm the only one who think it is amazing?" So I make 30 batches and force everyone I know to try the recipe.
That's kinda how this recipe went down. But on top of my taste bud doubt, I also have a generally blasé attitude towards energy bites. In my pitiful experience, they've tasted like chalky balls of peanut butter with the occasional bug-exoskeleton-like crisp of a chia seed. I have failed so many times that I just don't know where I found the ENERGY to try one more time (GET IT?).
I have managed to recreate a dece version of a Larabar. The only thing is, there are so many dates in Larabars they are almost too sweet for me, more like a candy treat than a snack. I wanted something that was a little more granola bar level. So I added oats of course.
This is a good recipe for little hands because of the ball rolling thing. Ruthie had a grand old time squeezing the mixture SO HARD with exaggerated hulk hogan style grunts. I used to think his name was Hull Kogan, by the way. And then an older me used to watch reality TV starring his daughter. I wonder what she’s doing now? I could Google it but I don't think I actually wonder that hard.
I keep these in the fridge because I like them a little firmer but they don’t need to be refrigerated. These are incredibly portable and are definitely going into a roundup post of my favorite diaper bag snacks.
They’re rich and filling and really good for you and I SWEAR that Ruthie and Bobby actually enjoy them. EXAMPLE: Ruthie asked me for a chocolate bar and I brought her a Hershey's kiss but then she fell to the floor screaming because turns out she wanted a chocolate BALL aka one of these! SILLY MOMMY.
It’s been a few years since I initially wrote this post and I’ve discovered that old is new again when you serve these in cookie form! It’s also never a bad idea to top with a chocolate drizzle: 1/4 cup chocolate chips, 1 tablespoon coconut oil, and 1 tablespoon cocoa powder melted together in a small sauce pan (or microwave safe glass bowl).
Quick Cocoa note: cocoa has some awesome health benefits, mainly flavonoids - antioxidant chemicals found in plants. I buy Ghiradelli unsweetened cocoa powder because it is not alkalized or dutch processed but also not $300/lb like some other brands, and you can find it at Target.
