(Originally known as the No Bake Chocolate Cookie)
If you ever did ANY “Sweet treat” cooking in your house, you probably, at one time, whipped up those great little no-bake chocolate cookies that had peanut butter, cocoa, sugar, evaporated milk, vanilla, oatmeal and nuts were optional. Some people even put shredded coconut in them. If you fixed too many of these tasty morsels, you probably over-cooked, under-cooked or just in general had BAD batches. OR Maybe I’m just the only one.
They were fairly quick to fix and yummy to eat, bad batch or not. HOWEVER, they aren’t the most healthy thing, ranking pretty high on the Glycemic Index charts, what with all that sugar.
When I started cutting down my sugar intake, started educating myself on what those things on the label of our foods we buy at the store really mean and stopped buying processed foods (for the most part), my already limited ability to have something sweet declined even more. So, the hunt started.
I can’t honestly say where I got the original recipe for these great tasting No-Bake cookies and I’ve messed with the recipe more than once, but can tell you they will be more kind to your low glycemic needs than the original recipe. So, here we go.
Even if you are diabetic, you’ll be able to eat these delicious little cookie / candy bites. I use Raw Honey most of the time (see below for substitutions). Since the mixture never gets heated, we’re not cooking the health benefits of the Raw Honey out of the mix.
Here’s also the breakdown:
1/2 c Sunbutter, Almond Butter or Peanut Butter
1/2 c Raw Honey or Agave Syrup (if using Stevia, just flavor to taste, they’ll be fine. If you use Stevia and need more liquid to replace the honey, add a little more coconut oil.)
1/2 c Melted Coconut oil
1 Tbsp Pure Vanilla
A sprinkle of Sea Salt
2 c Shredded Unsweetened Coconut (or flaked)
Mix everything together in a bowl except the coconut. Once you’ve got it all blended, stir in the coconut.
— Optional: 2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder (regular or dark works just as well. So does a mix of the two.) And you’re back to the original (healthier style-Low Glycemic) No Bake Chocolate Cookies. (See that recipe here)
I use a round Tbsp to scoop out rounded balls, place them on a tray lined with plastic or parchment paper. Freeze for about an hour then eat. These can be kept in the freezer or refrigerator, but because of the coconut oil, they will get soft if left out on a warm day.
Makes about 25 cookies .(If you noticed in the picture below I’ve got my Dark Hershey’s Cocoa version ready for the freezer.)
These are great little power balls packed with nutritious, fresh ingredients that will NOT blow your diet program. As with anything, do eat them with moderation. I’d hate for you to write me and say my sweet treats ruined your diet. LOL
By the way, if you’re a dark cocoa fan, jump right in and do the substitution. You may want to cut back the cocoa to 1 1/2 Tbsp though and if you’re not only a cocoa freak but a sweetie too, you can increase the honey by adding up to 2 more Tbsp without making it an ooie-gooie mess that won’t keep its shape.
I only use Sunbutter. Peanut butter has more oil and may make them a bit more runny, so to be on the safe side, you might want to add your oil a little at a time.
If it IS ooie-gooie, just pour them out on a lined cookie sheet, refrigerate for about 5 minutes, score with a dinner knife in the sizes you want, then freeze.
Here they are in bars along with some of the chocolate version. And remember —— Keep them either in the fridge or freezer, otherwise, on a warm day, you might need a spoon. LOL
BON APPETIT
Til the next time!
You’re never too young or too old! So…
Live Every Moment,
Love Beyond Words,
Laugh Everyday,
~Jennifer
These sound great! I remember making them for the kids a few years ago, wishing they were healthier. I’m not able to eat any sweets now, so I’ll just have to drool over the photo. I’m sure the guys will love them, though. Thanks for sharing.
Good thing it’s not cake week coming up, huh? Is this ‘no sweets’ a permanent thing? Look forward to hearing about it next week. xoxoxoxo
Looking for some healthy recipes, I checked into your site today. The original of these chocolate balls is very old. Not certain they didn’t originally come from Grandmother’s recipe file.
The original recipe included quick oats instead of so much coconut. Made something similar with chocolate chips recently for a club meeting to make a more nutritious sweet snack for Bill’s sweet tooth. They were a hit but I like this basic recipe better. Choc Chips have a lot of “not good for you fat and sugar.” Good to find a new substitute recipe.
The old recipe also had milk and since I’ve moved away from most dairy, I was glad to be able to construct something that had more ‘healthy’ ingredients too.
I love these little no bake balls (or bars) — with or without chocolate.