These Molasses Ginger Cookie Energy Bites are based off my favorite and classic cookie, but made healthy enough for a snack. These tasty no bake bites are naturally sweetened with dates and full of ginger cookie flavor. They’re also gluten free, dairy free, vegan and paleo as well.
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!
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Molasses Ginger Cookie Energy Bites
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 28 – 1 ounce bites 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These Molasses Ginger Cookie Energy Bites are based off my favorite and classic cookie, but made healthy enough for a snack. These tasty no bake bites are naturally sweetened with dates and full of ginger cookie flavor. They’re also gluten free, dairy free, vegan and paleo as well.
Ingredients
1 cup almonds, raw, 5 ounces
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
Instructions
Place the almonds, pecans, coconut, dates, spices, and sea salt into a 12-cup food processor.
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.
Notes
1. You can easily halve this recipe if you’d like to make less servings. These do keep well in the freezer which is why I make big batches.
2. The amount of spices may seem like a typo, but I promise that it’s not. It takes more spices to flavor energy bites than you would typically use in cookies.
3. Both nuts and dates are much cheaper if you buy them in bulk.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Category: Snack
- Method: Food Processor
- Cuisine: American
These look so good! I love that they’re sweetened with dates and all those spices sound wonderful!
Dates make the best energy bars, and I’m getting so addicted to them that I want to try and add them into my baking more!
I love these! Perfect for pre-gym snacks!
Exactly! That’s why I usually make them into 1 ounce bites instead of bigger bars, that way they’re a perfect small sized snack!
I am totally in love with these healthy snacks ! You are making me so hungry. 🙂
I knew I needed a super healthy/no sugar variation of my favorite to help keep me out of trouble! 🙂
Great budget tips here, and it also ensures that you never run out of ingredients to make tasty energy bites. I love the flavour combo here!
Yes, it definitely makes sure you always have enough on had to make some more! I hope you enjoy them! 🙂
I am so making these! Ginger cookies are my fav, and these look so good. And so easy! Thanks for sharing!
These are super easy which is always a plus in my book!
Gah! I am totally making these for the class parties next week! Thank you!
I hope all the kids like them! 🙂
Great idea! Confession…just bought my very first bottle of molasses ever! I know…..crazy. But now at least I can make these =)
I hope you enjoy them, they’re definitely my favorite cookie flavor!
I’m not sure my 5 stars were counted
Thanks for the rating, sometimes that feature doesn’t work properly when there’s an ad-blocker on. 🙂
Can’t wait to build these!
You’re going to love these for quick and easy snacks, plus they taste like cookie dough so that’s always a bonus!
Agreed! Medjool dates are the best. And they’re so naturally sweet that one little bite like these will satisfy any sugar cravings. Pinning!
These definitely work for sugar cravings, and that’s coming from a former sugar addict!