If I ever see a recipe with the word 'energy' in it, I'm going to try it, hands down. Who doesn't need a little more energy in their day, right? These little delectable morsels were stumbled upon by my ever increasing desire to live in the pilgrim days. I know that doesn't make sense, but here's my explanation: I have a feeling that my life was destined for bonnets, open fields of green, rough hands, dirt floors, cast iron pots and livestock. Don't get me wrong, I love me a pedicure, a perfect fitting blazer and running water, the modern stuff is wondrous - but there's just some sort of peace and calm that comes over me when I think about that time. Simplicity at it's finest. Ahhh....anyway, back to the delicious energy bites. My Grandmother recently passed in February and her past time was shelling pecans from her backyard. She always gave us girls a ziploc bag of shelled pecans labeled with the date at Christmas time so that we could put them in our freezer for holiday recipes. This is something that I took for granted now that I know I won't get them each year, she was a wonderful Grandmother and I have SO many wonderful memories of her. So, when I went to my Grandmother's house recently to pick up a few things I saw the Braums bag of unshelled pecans sitting by her backdoor and knew that I had to take them for shelling. Now, I have about 7 unshelled bags of pecans in my house. What's best is that they are my Grandmothers pecans and I get to use her bowl, towel, and nut cracker to shell them. And that makes me happy. So, now I have a plethora of pecans. No need to ration them out for holiday baking! So...I made some pecan butter. Why in the world is pecan butter not a staple in all of our pantries? Not only is it the most buttery, delicious and creamy yumminess, but its chock full of healthy stuff too! And if you make pecan butter yourself, there's no added sugary gunk. Here's my recipe for pecan butter:
Pecan Butter:
2 Cups Roasted Pecans
2 tbsp maple syrup
Dash of sea salt
Directions: Combine all together in a food processor until it turns into creamy goodness. Take a dollop on your finger and taste it...because you know you want to. Store in a sealed jar in the fridge, or hide in the corner of your laundry room with some Ritz crackers and go to town. I won't judge.
So, I usually make these energy bites with almond butter and peanut butter, but since I have pecans, I went with it and used my homemade pecan butter and almond butter instead. Here's the recipe:
Almond-Pecan Energy Bites:
1 cup Oats
1/4 cup flax meal
1/4 cup Pecan Butter (you can also peanut butter or all almond butter if you want)
1/4 cup Almond Butter (unsalted)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut (unsweet)
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup craisins
Directions: Combine everything together completely in a large bowl. Stick the bowl in the fridge to chill for about an hour. Form your mixture into small balls by rolling in your hands. If it's not quite holding together, add a spoonful of either pecan, almond or peanut butter or even some flaxseed oil. The size of the ball should be small enough to pop into your mouth easily. This recipe should make about 20-24 energy bites. Place into a sealed container in the fridge on a wax sheet so they don't stick together. Enjoy!
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