Whiteley Creek Homestead

I discovered this recipe on Fitness Freak's blog. It was originally published in the October 2005 issue of Vegetarian Times Magazine. They are guiltless morsels of sweetness jam-packed full of goodness. I used some buckwheat honey that I had purchased last July when Dick and I volunteered in the North Central Beekeepers Association's booth at the Crow Wing County Fair. Buckwheat honey has a dark color with a more robust flavor compared to such varieties as clover. Whenever I make cookies I use my special tablespoon-size measuring spoon, that I use solely for this purpose, to quickly produce uniform sizes. Growing up, I fondly remember the spoon that my mother used to scoop dough from the bowl to plop onto the cookie sheet. My mother, who is 91 years old, still has the spoon in her kitchen drawer. My sister, Rita, thinks that it was originally a gravy ladle. It's a happy tradition to begin in your own families. Any spoon will do as long as it is holds approximately one tablespoon. Note: In an email that I received from my daughter, Lisa, she included a comment regarding this recipe. "We made your nut balls the other day and boy are those things good. Those things are more dangerous for me than a candy bar, I like them so much."

No-Bake Pumpkin Seed Oat Energy Bites

Makes 24 1-inch balls

2 ½ cups rolled oats

½ cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

½ cup raisins

2 tbsp raw sunflower seeds

1 tsp cinnamon

½ cup almond butter (or natural peanut butter)

1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp barley malt syrup or agave nectar (I prefer brown rice syrup instead of barley malt syrup.)

1 tsp vanilla

Grind ½ cup oats and ¼ cup pumpkin seeds in food processor until powdery. Transfer to a cereal bowl or similar size bowl; set aside. Combine remaining two cups of oats, remaining ¼ cup pumpkin seeds, raisins, sunflower seeds, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir almond butter (or peanut butter), honey, barley malt syrup (or agave nectar or brown rice syrup), and vanilla together in a small bowl then add to mixture in large bowl. Stir until a soft dough forms. Moisten hands and roll dough into 1-inch balls. Coat balls in oat-pumpkin seed powder. Store in refrigerator or not. Freeze for longer term storage.