Coconut Bites

This recipe has seriously been one of my proudest moments.  I’m not really sure why, but I’m gonna take a wild guess that its because it sprang from an idea I had while in a store and it worked–on the first try!  Well, kinda the second try, but still from the first bowl of ingredients.  Its not every day that things like this come so easily.  Its pretty much never!

I was in the gourmet food section of one of my favorite discount stores, sans children, and I saw a bag of coconut clusters–for $5.99!  It was a small and practically weightless bag, too!  I scanned through the ingredients: coconut, a few other nuts, and brown rice syrup.  I knew I had coconut and loads of cashews and pecans in my pantry and I could totally substitute maple syrup or honey for the brown rice syrup.  When I got home, I was on a mission.

Into a large bowl went some coconut, chopped cashews (more like smashed with a meat mallet, but I didn’t want to have to clean the food processor), pumpkin seeds, and chia seeds.  Next was deciding how much maple syrup to add, but I started with a little at a time until reaching a point where everything was coated, but not drenched.  Finally a little salt and vanilla extract.  The result tasted phenomenal, but now for the real test–would they hold together during baking?  I dropped rounded spoonfuls onto the cookie sheet (need new cookie sheets–these are great!), popped them in the oven, and waited.  Unfortunately, they just fell apart.  But thankfully I had only put a few in the oven and still had plenty of mix left.  What would make these hold together?  I could put them in the dehydrator, but that would take hours.  There had to be a better way, right?

Then…egg whites!  Could it work?  I wasn’t sure, but gave it a go.  I left out the yolk because I didn’t want a cookie.  I wanted a light and airy, crunchy but chewy cluster, kinda like what I thought was in the bag at the store.  Again, I dropped rounded spoonfuls onto the cookie sheet, popped them in the oven, and waited.  PERFECT!  They might be a tad more cookie-like than the ones at the store (the dehydrator version without an egg white is much crispier), but they were so good I could hardly contain myself!  For the rest of the batch, I even added some mini dark chocolate chips.  I didn’t think they could get much better, but the chocolate chips took them over the top!

I ended up bringing a batch to our church group the next day.  They didn’t last long and several ladies asked where I got the recipe.  They are a regular request at our gatherings now.

These little guys are easy and packed full of good-for-you ingredients with just a hint of sweetness, perfect for snacks, lunch boxes, or anytime you need a slightly sweet, but power-packed energy boost!

Be sure to check the notes in the recipe card for substitution ideas!