My favorite cookie of all time is my Grandpa’s Molasses Ginger Cookies which I made into a gluten free version last year. They’re highly addictive, and so good that I don’t make them too often because I lack a little thing called ‘willpower’! So I thought it might be fun to take the same flavors of this classic cookie, and turn it into and energy bite/bar that you can feel good about eating every single day. These bites are sweetened with dates, and have all the addictive qualities of my favorite cookie without the butter and sugar. They’re warmly spiced, sweet, and have the texture of a good cookie dough. And I don’t know how you feel about baking, but eating cookie dough is half the fun for me! The funny thing with Molasses Ginger Cookies is the cookie dough isn’t actually that good in comparison with the baked cookies, and nothing like a good chocolate chip cookie dough. So you can imagine my delight when these energy bites came out tasting like you’d imagine Molasses Ginger Cookie dough to taste, (in other words… my idea of perfection).
Let’s talk about how to make these Molasses Ginger Cookie Energy Bites!
Tip #1: Medjool dates are my favorite date to use in energy bites/bars because of their soft texture and caramel like flavor. For the best deals, try and find dates in bulk because they’re much cheaper when you buy a couple of pounds at a time. Tip #2: And the same goes for nuts, they’re quite expensive in small quantities. If you buy several pounds at a time, you’ll find the price really drops. Another budget tip for nuts is to look for pieces rather than whole nuts. Since you’re chopping them up in the food processor, there’s no need for whole nuts in this recipe. Energy bites are really easy to make, simply place all the ingredients into a food processor… … and process into a cookie dough like texture. From there you can shape the dough into bites or bars, then enjoy some now, and maybe freeze some for later. I absolutely love having a container of these in the freezer, (they keep for at least a month) for easy snacks. They’re also sweet enough to satisfy my sweet tooth, and they’re great for cookie dough cravings as well! 5 from 6 reviews 2 cups pecans, raw, 8 ounces 1 cup unsweetened finely shredded coconut, 3 ounces 12 medjool dates, pitted, 8 ounces 1 Tablespoon + 2 Teaspoons Vietnamese cinnamon 1 1/2 Teaspoons ground cloves 1 Tablespoon ground ginger 1 Teaspoon sea salt 1/4 cup molasses, unsulfured 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract 2 Tablespoon water Process until the dates have been incorporated and the mixture is mostly fine textured with some bigger pieces of nuts. Be sure to monitor the machine because it can jump around on the counter sometimes. Add the molasses and vanilla and process again until they’re completely mixed in. Add the water 1 Tablespoon at a time until the mixture comes together in a thick cookie dough like texture. Shape the mixture as desired, I like to roll mine into energy bites about 1 ounce each, or about 2 Tablespoons. Store the energy bites in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1 week, or up to 1 month in the freezer.
