Oatmeal Carrot Cookie Dough Bites

When a snack attack hits, there’s no time to wait for an oven to preheat. These healthy cookie dough bites come together in a New York minute so you can crush your craving fast!

3 Medjool dates
4 dried apricots
1 tsp (5 mL) coconut oil
1/4 cup (60 mL) pumpkin purée
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract
1 cup (250 mL) gluten-free organic rolled oats
3 Tbsp (45 mL) coconut flour
2 Tbsp (30 mL) hemp hearts
1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp (1 mL) ground cardamom
1/8 tsp (0.5 mL) ground ginger
1/8 tsp (0.5 mL) ground cloves
Pinch of finely ground black pepper
1 cup (250 mL) grated carrot
1/4 cup (60 mL) unsweetened shredded coconut, for garnish

In bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade attachment, pulse together dates, apricots, coconut oil, pumpkin purée, and vanilla until well combined and dates and apricots have broken down into small pieces. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add rolled oats, coconut flour, hemp hearts, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, pepper, and carrot. Process until well combined and mixture sticks together when pinched between your fingers.

Roll mixture into walnut-sized balls before coating in coconut. Devour right away or refrigerate on parchment-lined baking sheet for a few hours and savour later. Cookie dough bites also freeze beautifully stored in an airtight container. Allow to sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before eating.

Makes 16 cookie dough bites.

Each cookie dough bite contains: 74 calories; 2 g protein; 3 g total fat (2 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 11 g total carbohydrates (5 g sugars, 2 g fibre); 8 mg sodium

source: "Smart Snacking", alive #387, January 2015