No Bake Coconut & Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

After I came home from our Aruba trip, I had to make something with my Vita-Mix.  I just had to turn on the beast.

It had been 3 whole weeks and my hearing had normalized so any sane woman would turn her Vita on at 2am after being awake for 24+ hours if she was apart from her beloved appliance for 3 weeks, right?

I looked around the kitchen and my vat of coconut flakes and coconut oil were calling out to be used.

If you like cookie dough, infused with the flavors of coconut, these are for you.  The coconut flavor is present, but not overpowering, and I love the combo of coconut + cookie dough + chocolate.

And if you “don’t like coconut”, well, try it again. You’ll come around. I sure have over the years.

And if you still don’t like coconut there’s just more of these for the rest of us. Fine by me!

For the non-cocnut fans, you make these non-coconutty raw vegan chocolate chip cookie dough balls instead.

And for the coconut lovers, enjoy the recipe.

 

[print_this]

No Bake Coconut & Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

Ingredients:

2/3 c cashews (unsalted, and raw if possible)

1/4 c coconut flakes (unsweetened or sweetened)

2 tbsp oats (whole, rolled not quick cook)

3 tbsp agave or maple syrup (or combination)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp coconut oil (optional, and if using it and batter gets too wet after adding, add a pinch more dried coconut flakes, oats, or cashews and re-blend)

 

1/4 to 1/3 c chocolate chips or chunks

Yields: approximately 16-18 bites

Directions:

First add cashews, coconut flakes, and oats to Vita-Mix or food processor and grind into a fine powder.  Then, add the agave, vanilla extract, and coconut oil, and blend again.  Finally, the chocolate chips and either stir in by hand or barely blend/pulse until incorporated.  Retain some texture to the chips or chunks.

Remove the dough and form into cookie bites.  If dough is soft or hard to work with, refrigerate/freeze for 20 minutes prior to forming into bites.

Optional Ideas:

After the bites are formed, drizzle them with dark or white chocolate by melting 1/4 c dark/white chocolate.  With a spoon, drizzle chocolate over the top of the bites (see here for an example) Or, dip each bite entirely into chocolate.

Add dried coconut flakes to each bite by rolling them in coconut flakes at the end.

Dust finished bites with cocoa or carob powder.

Store the dough bites in refrigerator or freezer.

[/print_this]

Pop a coconut cookie dough bite, or four, as a snack.

A snack that happens to be vegan, gluten free, soy free, dairy free, and that you can make in 5 minutes.  I promise they don’t taste “healthy” or “healthified” even though that description made them sound like they may.

Or eat them as dessert.

At 4am after a long night out.  Or for breakfast with coffee.  Mmm, good.

Or really just any time the Cookie Dough Monster comes calling.  Which, for me, is quite frequently.

I store all my bites and balls in the freezer so that I have a wide variety and assortment of different flavors on hand, at all times.  Freezing has no effect on the taste, IMO.  Major blessing. My grandma used to keep about 17 different types of cookies in her deep freeze in Folger’s Coffee cans and I suppose raw vegan cookie dough bites in the freezer is really just a new variation on her very old theme.

That way if I am feeling like No Bake Toffee & Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

or No Bake White Chocolate & Mango Cookie Dough

I can just pop of few of whatever flavors I want rather than having to make from scratch at a moment’s notice and you know how it is when you get that sudden craving!

Now I can add coconut flavored dough to my recipe arsenal.  An to the freezer.  That makes me happy.

I am also adding this recipe to my Coconut Recipes post so if need ideas for how to use Coconut Oil or Coconut Flakes, I’ve got plenty of suggestions with photos there.

As well as to my No Bake/Raw Dessert Balls & Bites compilation post with photos, too.

I’m glad you liked my last post, Powder, and the product reviews.

Questions:

1. Best thing you ate or did over the weekend?

Making, and eating, these coconut and chocolate chip cookie dough bites ranked right up there.

As well as enjoying the sunny, albeit cool-ish, weather.

After being in Aruba for 3 weeks, 70F and no humidity in San Diego feels cool.  Spoiled, yes.

And I went and did something fun Saturday afternoon.   More on that in my next post.

2. Do you like coconut flavored things?

I never used to like coconut but as time has gone on I like it more and more.

Now, I can’t really “taste” coconut oil in recipes the way I used to be able to about five years ago.

In fact, I have come to adore coconut oil in desserts.  Or for roasting veggies.

But raw vegan coconut oil chocolate is a favorite of mine.

 

3. Favorite kind of cookies or cookie dough?

Fill me in and inspire me to create something else!

P.S. If you’re just catching up on posts from this weekend, here are mine since Friday:

• Powder
• Chores & Goodies
• Rock the Boat
• Comforts of Home
• Blogging 103