No-Bake Coconut 'Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough' Bites

Vegan. Healthy. Chocolate. Cravings. Try my No-Bake Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites!

These are sooo delicious and a healthier way to snack!  They look/taste just like cookie dough!  I experimented with a bunch of ways to do raw cookie dough bites and I think this is my fave variation. 

Time: 15 - 20 mins

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup rice flour
• 2 tbsp melted honey
• 1 tbsp water
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Ground cinnamon to taste
• Pinch of sea salt

Recipe:

1. Pulse oats & flour in a food processor until oats are ground
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour mixture, melted honey, water, shredded coconut, salt, cinnamon & vanilla
3. Mix until dough forms
4. Roll mixture into 1" balls
5. Press chocolate chips in
6. Sprinkle sea salt (optional)
7. Enjoy!

Pear Pie

Put this on your holiday dessert list!  

Time: about 1.5 hours total

Ingredients:

• 2 Pears
• 2 sticks of unsalted butter or margarine (1 stick = 1/2 cup)
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 425° F
2. In a food processor, pulse 1 stick of cold butter (cut into cubes) with 1 cup all purpose flour & 1 teaspoon salt until dough forms (you will likely have to finish forming dough with your hands after you take it out of the food processor).
3. Roll dough out with a rolling pin so that it's wide enough to cover the bottom of your round pie pan, and have room to press up the sides of the pan (like a crust).
4. Press dough into the bottom of the pan and around the sides, ensure all around the pan is coated with the crust. 
5. This step is optional:  I sprinkled some ground cinnamon into the pie crust so that it's a little more flavorful.  I fully believe in cinnamon.... on everything.
6. Bake crust alone for about 20 mins or until slightly browned.  
7. Filling: Slice pears very thin (I used a mandoline slicer, but you can just do this with a utility/paring knife). Remove any seeds.
8. In a medium bowl, coat sliced pears with brown sugar, remaining ground cinnamon, gloves, and ginger.  Add a little salt if you'd like. 
9. Remove bottom crust from the oven and fill it with the above mixture.
10. Top crust:  Repeat steps 2-4.   Roll dough out over the pie filling with your hands (to cover the pie) and gently tuck in the corners using the excess dough (you may have to pinch a little to ensure that the top crust stays on!)
11. Cut two slits on the top so the filling has room to breathe
    TIP:  wiggle your knife so the slits are a little wide, since the dough will expand a little as it cooks.
12. Put pie into the oven first, then lower the degrees to 350° F and bake for about an hour or until the top crust is golden brown! 
13. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Scones

Time:  1.5 hours

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (or more, as needed)
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of the following:
  • salt
  • ground cinnamon
  • ground nutmeg
  • ground cloves
  • ground ginger
• 1 cup canned pure (unsweetened) pumpkin
• 1 tablespoon applesauce
• 6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes

White Glaze:

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk (I used fat-free lactaid)

Spiced Icing:

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 to 2 tablespoons milk (I used fat-free lactaid) (any kind)
• 1/4 teaspoon of the following:
  • ground cinnamon
  • ground nutmeg
  • ground ginger
  • ground cloves 

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. Lightly dust the top with flour.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients for the scones.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin and apple sauce.
4. Use a pastry cutter or two knives to cut butter into the dry ingredients. Continue cutting until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. (You can also use a food processor for this step).
5. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then form the dough into a ball. The dough will be wet, but if it seems super sticky, go ahead and sprinkle a little more flour into the dough until it's easier to handle (you'll be working in 1/4 to 1/2 cup additional flour to get the right consistency).
6. Pat out dough onto the lightly floured baking sheet and form it into a 1-inch thick circle. Use a large knife or a pizza cutter to slice the dough three times through, making 6 equal squares. Gently pull them apart.
7. Bake 14 to 16 minutes on prepared baking sheet. Scones should begin to turn light brown.
8. While scones are cooling, prepare plain glaze by whisking ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix until smooth.
9. When scones are cool, use a brush to paint a coating of the glaze over the top of each scone.  Let this glaze cool completely until firm.
10. Prepare spiced icing by whisking the ingredients in another medium bowl until smooth. Drizzle this thicker icing over each scone.
11. Enjoy!