Oatmeal Energy Bites

School has been kicking my butt for the past couple of weeks. Either that, or I seem to have had a change in attitude towards school and am diligently reading all (okay, most) of the set reading. All of this staring into my computer/books have left me feeling antsy and craving sugary treats. For the first couple of days I satisfied myself with Krispy Kremes, chocolate digestives and other such treats before switching to satsumas, bananas and grapefruit (totally not study-snack appropriate). At one point I was just SO snack/sweet-crazy I was alternating spoons of peanut butter and Nutella straight into my mouth, gross!

After feeling wholly dissatisfied with all of my snack choices I decided to take charge and bake  something (not really baking, just assembling really... ) that would satisfy this craving for sweetness, whilst being slightly healthy. These little energy bites taste UNREAL!! They kind of reminded me of the flapjacks we would get as a tea-time snack at boarding school… but a million times better, and so much cuter too!!

         1 cup oats

         ¾ cup ground almonds

         ½ cup golden linseed

         ½ cup dried medjool dates (de-stoned and chopped)

         ½ tsp cinnamon

         ½ cup peanut butter

         ⅓cup agave

         1 tsp vanilla essence

         Optional toppings e.g. chocolate chips, dried nuts, fruits, etc... 

In a large bowl mix all of the ingredients and place in a food processor. Blitz for 30 seconds until all the ingredients have combined into a cohesive paste. Add optional ingredients, e.g. chocolate chips, dried fruit, nuts, etc... (I used desiccated coconut and milk chocolate chips to replicate the flavours of a samoa). Place mixture in the fridge and allow to chill for 30 minutes or so. Using a table spoon, scoop out the mixture and roll into balls before storing these bites in an airtight container, where they will keep in the fridge for about a week.