Full disclosure: these actually were supposed to be bars, but the dates I used were a liiiittle old and must have been too dry because I couldn’t get the dough to stick together enough. So- a new recipe is born! Every single ingredient in these energy bites is good for you: almonds, almond butter, cacao powder, dried tart cherries, and cacao nibs (plus a tiny pinch of vanilla extract and sea salt). They are perfect as a pre or post workout snack or as something to grab when you get a craving for something sweet. All of the fat in this recipe is healthy fat from the almonds and all of the sugar is natural sugars from the dried fruit and a tiny bit in the cacao nibs. No artificial sweeteners or added sugar here! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
Active Time: 5 minutes Total Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 15
Ingredients: 1 cup raw unsalted almonds ¾ cup dried cherries 1½ cups pitted dates ¼ cup almond butter 1 tablespoon cacao powder (or cocoa powder) ½ teaspoon vanilla extract pinch of salt
3 tablespoons cacao nibs (or regular chocolate chips/chunks)
Directions:
Combine first 7 ingredients in a food processor until very finely chopped. Add the cacao nibs and pulse a few times to incorporate. The mixture will be slightly crumbly, but will hold together when firmly squeezed in your palms. Squeeze/roll heaping tablespoons into 15 balls.
Nutrition Information per serving:
Calories: 114 Fat: 5.5g Carbs: 16g Protein: 3g Sodium: 12mg Sugar: 11g
*Nutrition information is based on the products I used personally in this recipe. Different products may yield slightly different information.
