Bite sized cookie dough dipped in chocolate. These raw vegan and gluten-free treats are made from cashews, almond flour, dates, cacao butter, cacao powder, liquid sweetener and sea salt.
Do you remember those boxes of cookie dough bites from the movie theater? It’s been a long time, but lately I’ve been craving them. Thankfully it’s really easy to make them healthier with just a few simple ingredients.
Brief Overview
For the dough you’ll need a food processor or blender to grind up the nuts and dates into a moldable cookie dough. Then you’ll melt down the cacao butter and mix in the cacao powder and liquid sweetener. Dunk the bite sized cookie dough in the chocolate and put it in the fridge for about 5-10 minutes.
There was something amazing about shaping the dough individually with my hands, it was like I was a kid again playing with edible play dough. I can’t even count how many dough bites I ate during this step.
However, if you’re looking for a shortcut, all you have to do is put it in a glass 6×4 dish and push it down with a rubber spatula. Then freeze it for 10-20 minutes and cute them into tiny little squares.
Cacao Paste or Cacao Butter and Powder
Cacao paste or “liquor” is a little easier to work with, all you have to do is add a liquid sweetener and some sea salt and your good to go.
If you don’t find any cacao liquor, and you don’t want to buy it online; you’re next best bet is buying the white solid blocks of cacao butter and then mix in the cacao powder, sweetener and sea salt. This time I used this option because that’s all I had, and it works just as well.
First you melt the cacao butter, preferably in a medium-small glass bowl. You can do this in a dehydrator while you’re making and shaping the cookies, or you can put about 1/2 cup water in a medium sauce pan and put the glass bowl in the water for a few minutes. Sorta like a homemade double boiler.
You can melt your chocolate however you’d like, but don’t overheat it and cook it.
Once you have your cookie dough bites formed, put them in the freezer for 5-10 minutes and let the chocolate cool a bit on the counter.
When they’re both a bit cool, you’ll stir in a handful of cookie dough bites into the chocolate.
Then let any excess drip off and place them onto the dish that had been in the freezer so they harden instantly.
The first time I tried to do them all at once by putting them all in a mason jar and shaking it up with the chocolate. They look a little chunky.
They probably could be a lot smoother, if I had done them in small batches, but oh well time was of the essence, next time I’ll try harder on the aesthetics, or maybe I won’t. 😉 The taste is out of this world, so I’m not complaining.
I can’t remember what the originals taste like, but it doesn’t matter because I am so satisfied with this remake. Yummmmmy!
I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
Cookie Dough Bites
Gluten-free and raw vegan bite sized cookie dough dipped in chocolate.Servings: 5INGREDIENTS
Cookie Dough
- 1 cup cashews
- 1 cup almond meal
- 1/4 cup cacao nibs; or chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup juicy dates; *see notes
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar; *optional not raw
- 1/2 vanilla bean; or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Chocolate Coating
- 1 cup golden cacao butter
- 1/2 cup cacao powder
- 1/4 cup maple syrup; or other liquid sweetener
- 1/4 tsp salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Cookie Dough
- Add in all of the ingredients and process until it resembles cookie dough. Don't over process and make nut butter.
- Shape the cookies by either pressing into balls with you hands, using a cookie press, or using cookie cutters.
- Freeze dough for 5-10 minutes on a glass dish, until cool to touch.
Chocolate Coating
- Melt cacao butter. I use a glass ramekin and put it in a shallow saucepan of boiling water.
- Mix all the chocolate Ingredients together.
- Let it cool for 5-10 minutes.
Assembly
- Take handful of cookie dough bites and stir them into the chocolate.
- Take them out with a fork, let the excess chocolate drip off and place them onto the glass dish that was used to freeze them in.
NOTES
If available, use 1 cup cacao paste, aka liquor, instead of cacao butter and powder.
Store in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in freezer for up to 2 weeks.
*If dates are not juicy, soak them in water for about 10-20 minutes.