Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

I found this recipe via Pinterest on this girl's blog. The fact that her URL said to "love veggies and yoga"served as a very quick message to me that this blog was going to hold some treasures. Sure enough, these cookie dough bites are to die for! They are such a great way to get a little taste of dessert in your chomper while not having to feel bad about filling up on butter and sugar and oil. Plus it allowed me to play with my new CuisinArt that I love oh-so-much. Seriously, I've been seeking out recipes solely so that I can use my food processor more often. Is that weird? Doesn't matter. Anyway...

Here's what's in these babies:  

Does that look deceptively healthy to you? Good. Because they are! 

The base is oats and cashews with just a little of the agave, maple and vanilla. 

I don't think I can lie to you and say there aren't a lot of chocolate chips in this recipe...but is that really a bad thing? It's definitely not to me. If I'm going to eat dessert, I'd prefer that it has a nice healthy dose of chocolate.

I also think you should know: the only important change I made to the Averie Cooks recipe is that I used mini chocolate chips. As small of a discrepancy as this might seem....you're wrong and it's not. I'm sorry. I'm getting defensive. The mini chocolate chip idea feels genius to me though. You get quadruple the chocolate-per-bite, thus making it feel more dessert-y and less health-foody. 

Isn't it a pretty little bite? 

The only other difference between mine and Averie's recipe is that I doubled her recipe and made 22 balls. Her single batch made 17 balls. I suppose by nature I like to make desserts with chocolate in large portions. More like 5-10 little bites instead of 2-3. Your balls are your balls though, and you can make them as large or small as you choose!

Makes 22 balls

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup raw cashews

2/3 cup oats

4 tbsp Agave

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Procedure

1. Combine cashews and oats in food processor and blend until a fine powder (like flour). 

2. Add agave, maple, and vanilla into the food processor and continue to blend until the mixture forms itself into a moist ball of dough. 

3. Remove from the processor and mix in the chocolate chips on a cutting board or wax paper. I used a plastic spatula to the mix in the chocolate so that the dough wouldn't stick to my hands. 

4. Roll the dough into little balls and store on wax paper in a tupperware. Refrigerate and eat when hungry. :) 

What's your favorite kind of cookie? I'll try to make more recipes like this in those flavors!