Hello lovely readers! It’s been HOT here all the sudden (not complaining, it’s great) so when we wanted something a little sweet, I was not so into the whole oven, baking thing. I made these No-Bake Oatmeal Cinnamon Cookie Bites, which reminded me that I had meant to share them on here! I originally created these mini cookies because I was trying to come up with a healthier version of those Little Debbie Oatmeal Crème Pies that I used to love when I was younger. They didn’t pan out quite like I was hoping (going to keep trying!) but the happy accident was that I ended up with this great “dough” that I rolled out and made into these healthy bite-sized treats.
These little cookies are sweetened with dates and a squirt of honey. I love using dates as a sweetener….they’re high in naturally occurring sugars, but they also come with fiber, potassium, antioxidants, and minerals such as calcium and magnesium. So there’s that, plus even more fiber, potassium, and magnesium from the blood sugar-stabilizing oats. So you can feel good about using these for kid-snacking too, if you want to share 🙂
These are so easy it’s almost hard to call them a recipe…BUT you do need a food processor. If you have that, you’re all set and these can be yours in less than 10 minutes. You don’t even need mini cookie cutters, because you can just cut the dough into little squares. I used random heart and star cutters that came with a baking kit my daughter has, plus a diamond and clover shaped one that I think was actually originally part of a play-doh kit (shhhh).
I’ll be uploading a little video down below to show you how easy this is, but basically you throw all the ingredients (except water) into your food processor and run it until things are ground up a bit, like this:
Then add water and run it again until a dough ball forms in the machine, like this. You may need to stop the machine and scrape down the sides, (maybe even add a tiny bit more water), then continue processing until a ball forms:
Roll it out between parchment paper (I spray the paper with cooking spray) to your desired thickness. I make them about 1/8 – 1/4 inch thick, which should make anywhere between 30- 40 cookies depending on your cutter size. Then comes the fun part of making shapes (or cutting into squares), and you’re done! Eat them now or store in the fridge for a few days.
Something that makes these even sweeter is to press a few mini chocolate chips or raisins into the top of each cookie. Not that we’ve done that before. And also, the cinnamon is actually optional. Some members of the family like it better with and some without (me), but I included it because it does goes well with the oats and maybe you will also be Team Cinnamon.
If you want more sweet treats from your food processor, check out my Fudgy Chocolate Coconut Snack Balls!
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup pitted dates
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp honey
- 1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
- 2 tbsp water
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Add the first 5 ingredients (through cinnamon) to the bowl of your food processor and run the machine until combined.
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Add the 2 Tbsp water and run the machine again, until a dough ball forms. (Note: if a dough ball does not form as you continue to run the machine, you may need to stop, scrape down the sides and add a bit more water (a teaspoon or so), then run the machine again until it turns into a dough ball.)
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Roll the dough ball out between two sheets of parchment paper until it is to your desired thickness (I do about 1/8 – 1/4 inch). Use cookie cutters to make small shapes, or cut into small squares if you don’t have mini cookie cutters. Enjoy!
These will store in the refrigerator for 3 -4 days in an airtight container.
For added sweetness, press mini chocolate chips or raisins into the top of each cookie.
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