Think chocolate chip cookies with chocolate syrup drizzled on top, but the healthier version to help keep you on track with your health and wellness goals.
I've been making these "cookie" bites for years. They travel well, and they are great to have on hand when you just need to grab something quick. You can make these as healthy, or not-so-healthy as you want.
Recipe for LR's Cookie Bites:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. You will need:
1 c chocolate chips of your choice or: 1/4 c cacao nibs or carob chips (Cacao nibs are rich in antioxidants, iron and magnesium.)
1 teaspoon creamy fresh ground peanut butter
4 overripe bananas
1 c organic quick oats
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 raisins
*optional: handful of ground flax seed
*optional 1 tbsp honey
Add all the ingredients together, mix until smooth. If your mix seems too gooey, add a little more of the oats, but the mix should be good for you. Spoon onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes, or until browned and they are not gooey anymore.
You can substitute anything in the cookie bites as long as you have the base of overripe bananas and oats. Like anything, nuts, cranberries, goji berries, dried fruit, whatever. Once you've got your mix down that you enjoy, you can take this up a notch and drizzle this chocolate syrup over them. I used Minimalist Baker's Vegan Chocolate Syrup recipe. If you're not following Dana yet, you definitely should. Her recipe for the vegan chocolate syrup is:
"Ingredients
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp (135 ml) water
2 Tbsp (30 ml) maple syrup, plus more to taste (or sub stevia to taste)
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp (54 g) unsweetened cocoa powder or cacao powder
2 Tbsp (25 g) minced cacao butter*(or chopped vegan bittersweet/dark chocolate)
Pinch sea salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Add water, maple syrup, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, and salt to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Whisk to combine.
Reduce heat slightly and cook on a rolling simmer (~medium / medium-low heat) for 5 minutes until thickened, whisking occasionally. Then remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more maple syrup for sweetness, saltiness for flavor balance, or cocoa powder for more intense chocolate flavor.
Use immediately as a hot chocolate sauce, or let cool completely and then store in a jar. It will thicken slightly in the refrigerator, which you can thin by adding in 1-3 Tbsp (15-45 ml) water or dairy-free milk. Store covered in the fridge up to 2 weeks, sometimes longer.
Perfect for topping ice cream, cake, adding to shakes, and DIY almond milk!
Notes
*I use cocoa butter to keep this sauce naturally sweetened. However, feel free to sub bittersweet or dark vegan chocolate! Adjust amount of maple syrup as needed. *Recipe adapted from Food 52."
For the record, I used coconut butter instead of the cacao butter because I didn't have any. It turned out amazing, so I'm going to stick with it so I don't have to add anything else to my cabinets for now.
I stacked up the cookies on a plate, drizzled the chocolate syrup on top, and topped them with sea salt.
Outstanding, and really so easy and healthy!
Let me know what you guys think when you get your hands on some!
xx,
Laura