Spread holiday cheer with these festive Peppermint Mocha energy bites!

Once Starbucks starts advertising their Peppermint Mocha drink, I know it is time to start celebrating the holidays! This season is one of my favorites because it means I get to step by from my everyday life for a few days and spend time with the ones I love most.

One of my favorite things to do around the holidays is bake. But I find so many of the cookies and treats end up leaving me feel sluggish and bloated. Of course I am still going to indulge around this time of year and eat Christmas cookies, but then I got to thinking…what if I made a treat this year that actually helped provide energy, while also tasting fabulous? And voilà, Peppermint Mocha Energy Bites were created.

Peppermint Mocha Energy Bites

One of my favorite things to do around the holidays is bake. But I find so many of the cookies and treats end up leaving me feel sluggish and bloated. Of course I am still going to indulge around this time of year and eat Christmas cookies, but then I got to thinking…what if I made a treat this year that actually helped provide energy, while also tasting fabulous? And voilà, Peppermint Mocha Energy Bites were created.

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Carbohydrates 12g

Protein 5g

Fat 5g

Saturated Fat 1g

Fiber 3g

Calories 113

Servings 20 Bites

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 8 oz pitted dates about 2 cups
• 2/3 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup nut butter of choice I used almond butter
• 4 scoops collagen peptides or protein powder (optional)
• 1-2 tbsp ground coffee
• 2 oz dark chocolate at least 70%
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2-4 candy canes chopped (to top or roll)

Instructions

 

• In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients except for the candy canes. Mix until combined into a thick “dough”.
• Meanwhile, chop candy canes or crush in a bag with your hands or rolling pin.
• Shape “dough” into approximately 20 balls. 
• Roll in chopped candy canes or for less of a peppermint taste, top a light sprinkle on top of bites.
• Store in fridge for up to 1 week, or freeze for later use.

Notes

*The nutrition figures above are based on one serving and should be considered estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in foods, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe.

Keyword make ahead, meal prep, no bake, snacks

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Ingredients and Substitutions

Most of these ingredients you may already have on hand! But some things, such as dates and candy canes, may be something you don’t keep in your home on an everyday basis. If you don’t like something, feel free to replace with an alternative. Energy bites are pretty forgiving. You just need a bunch of dry stuff and little wet and sticky stuff to keep it together. Since they are no bake, they don’t require precise measuring and they aren’t an exact science. Feel free to play around with the ingredients and quantities!

• Dates
  • Dates are the fruit of the date palm tree, which is grown in many tropical regions of the world. Dates offer a significant amount of fiber and variety of vitamins and minerals, including iron, potassium, B vitamins, copper, and magnesium. These are the base of this recipe (along with oats) and what helps hold these bites together. If you have an allergy or don’t prefer dates, you can simply adjust the oat/nut butter ratios to help the bites stick together. Although, be aware that they contain natural sugar, which is what provides sweetness to this recipe. Without the dates this recipe will not be sweet.
• Oats
  • As the base of this recipe, I do not recommend taking out or replacing. You may also be able to use whole wheat flour OR almond flour, although I have not personally tested that out yet.
• Nut Butter
  • Any nut butter will work in this recipe. Examples include peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower butter, etc.
• Collagen Peptides
  • This is an optional ingredient and can easily be omitted. Although, collagen has so many great benefits! Collagen is the body’s most abundant protein and helps give structure to our hair, skin, nails, bones, ligaments, and tendons. As we age, our body’s natural collagen production slows down. Sneaking in collagen into your diet can help keep these parts of our bodies strong.
• Ground Coffee
  • Since this recipe is called “mocha”, it does contain ground coffee and a little bit of caffeine. If you are trying to avoid caffeine or do not like the taste of coffee, you can simple omit this ingredient.
• Dark Chocolate
  • Not a chocolate lover? You’re crazy 🙂 But if you would like to change up the chocolate chips you can replace them with any chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans are my personal favorite in this recipe) or you can fully omit, although since this is called “mocha”, I highly recommend you not leaving out this ingredient.
• Candy Canes
  • This ingredient is used to as the finale to these energy bites. They give these bites a little extra crunch, color, and flavor. Feel free to use a lot of a little depending on what amount of peppermint flavor you like.

I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU TRY IT!

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