This is an older recipe from Foraged Dish that I wanted to spruce up with new photos and a video. These energy bites are so darn delicious — they’ve been in my snack draw at work and I SO look forward to snack time each day!

Last week I went on a hike in the Front Range with nothing in my bag but my camera, my phone, and a ziplock stocked with these Chocolate Chip Energy Bites. I thought I had my car key too, until 30 minutes in when — oh no! - I noticed the pocket where I keep my key was open. Open and empty.

I immediately turned on my heels and spent the whole hike downhill with my head turned down, eyes constantly scanning the trail. I tried to soothe my inner chatter box, which, by the time I made it back down to the trailhead with no sign of my keys in sight, was freaking out. In the end, I had to call for a ride to go get a spare key (thanks, Dad!).

But I digress. Casualties of hiking alone are not what this post is about! This post is about the snack I had with me at the time, Chocolate Chip Energy Bites! (The whole hike I kept thinking, well at least if I have to wait a while, I have good snacks…)

These energy bites call for only six ingredients and they just go into your food processor and you roll them up. That’s it! Why macadamias and cashews? Macadamia nuts are extra buttery, which lends very well to this recipe, which taste a lot like a healthy version of cookie dough! At the same time, cashews are a bit starchier than most nuts, and their sweet flavor also gives these bites a bit of a “cookie dough” flavor.

Mini chocolate chips are best in this recipe because they distribute into each energy bite well. Each bite has a bit of chocolate and a bit of nut mixture, which sticks everything together.

Happy hiking! Take these with you — and don’t lose track of those keys!!

Chocolate Chip Energy Bites

Published January 15, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Yield: 12 | Active Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1/3 cup dates, pitted

1/2 cup macadamia nuts

1/2 cup cashew pieces

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon honey

3 tablespoons mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Add dates, macadamia nuts, cashews, salt, and honey to bowl of food processor. Secure lid on food processor and run until the nuts are ground into a corse meal that begins to clump.
Add mini chocolate chips to food processor and pulse, 2-3 times, just until chocolate is evenly distributed.
Scoop a heaping tablespoonful of the mixture into your hands and roll into a ball. Repeat until all of the mixture is used.
Enjoy immediately or store in an air-tight container in the fridge.

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