This afternoon, I was craving something sweet and needed to spring clean and cull my baking supplies. The Venn intersection of these two things yielded these sweets which are quite moreish, but hearty enough that just one is actually enough to revive a flagging adult from a mid-afternoon energy slump.
I called them Boredom Bites, not because they are boring to eat, but because I was bored enough at the time of their inception to actually clean my baking supply cupboard...They can be made with any nuts or dried fruit you have on hand and, in fact, I have posted a more convoluted version of these energy bites in the past, with different ratios of similar ingredients. You can also add flaxseed or chia seed if you like, but make sure to drink a liquid when snacking on the treat if adding chia seeds.
This makes 20 bites. They can be kept in the freezer and eaten directly once removed as they do not get rock hard solid when frozen.
1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
1 cup shaved coconut
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
3/4 cup natural nut butter (I used Crazy Richards peanut butter which contains nothing but peanuts)
Splash of maple syrup if you want the treats to be sweeter than they naturally are. I found that the dates added enough sweetness but, should you use, say, apricots, you will want a bit of additional sweetener.
Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Once they are combined, add the peanut butter. Starting with a spoon, and probably progressing to your hand, mix the nut butter into the other ingredients until you arrive at a cohesive mixture,
Place the bowl in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour so that the peanut butter can set a bit.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Remove the bowl from the fridge and, using a small ice cream scoop if possible, form the mixture into equal sized balls, pressing the mixture together and rolling them between your palms to get a smooth finish and treats that will not fall apart. Place each treat on the parchment paper lined tray as you make it.
Place the tray as is in the freezer for a couple of hours, before transferring the treats to a covered container.