In the afternoon, I like to have a small snack, a mid-day energy boost to go along with a cup of green tea. Of course, as you might imagine, the perfect snack for the job is the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup, but variety is good too. Before the holidays, I had ordered a bunch of nuts, seeds and dried fruit. Now and then, I’d reach into the pantry and try to decide which I would eat for a snack. I wanted all of them, but opening all those jars… no time for that!
I had enjoyed Larabars, but found them a bit large for that mid-day boost when I just want a small bite. Plus, they are rather pricey. Besides, I had a pantry full of yummy nuts and fruit; there had to be a way to use them up!
So, I had an idea! Why not pack them into mini muffin cups? I searched the Internet for ideas, and finally came up with this recipe. Just to make sure I wasn’t biased in my conclusion, I rounded up some volunteer taste-testers, and all agreed… these are awesome! I will no doubt experiment with other combinations of nuts and fruit and also spices, maybe a carrot-cake spice flavour, but for now, these are perfect.
For those who are not familiar with cardamom, a perfect spice for this recipe, I described it to one of my volunteers (who by then had scarfed 3 of them!) as falling somewhere between vanilla and heaven. I love it, while some don’t care for it, but I think it adds a certain heavenly flavour to these snacks.
At first, it may not appear as though the crumbled ingredients will hold together, but they do hold their shape once packed into the mini-muffin moulds and chilled. This recipe makes 12, well-packed mini muffins. The perfect mid-afternoon snack!
Ingredients
1½ cup mixed dried (pitted) fruit (dates, raisins, apricots)
1 cup mixed nuts & seeds (almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, pumpkin seeds), whatever you have on hand
¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
¼ cup oat flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
Makes 12 mini cups.
Optional seasonings: cinnamon, ground cloves, cardamom.
For Cranberry bites, use 1 cup dried cranberries and ½ cup dates and omit nut butter if using Craisins (they contain oil).
Instructions
Grind nuts and seeds in food processor or hi-speed blender. Set aside.
Process dried fruit and vanilla in food processor until well chopped. This may take a bit of time.
Add ground nuts, seeds and coconut; and process until well mixed.
Pack into mini muffin tins lined with paper liners, or in a silicone mold.
Refrigerate to firm up.
