Lemon-Kissed Cocoa Date Bites

So you know those yummy and simple Larabars, that are oh-so-expensive for like...barely three bites of bar? Turns out, super easy to create for cheap in your own home. Now I know this isn't a new concept - homemade larabars and snacks using dates is an old concept. But rightly so! Dates are called "nature's candy" for a reason, and they're good for you, too! So I decided to make my own spin on the concept. I had two requirements - 1) Nut free, since nuts are sometimes hard on my stomach and 2) Lemon! Lemon larabars are one of my favorites.

So I made...

Lemon-Kissed date bites! Which could also be shaped into bars, but I found the little ball shapes to be a nice snacking size.

You'll need...

• 10 soft, pitted, dried dates
• 1 tbs cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/2 a lemon (squeezed for juice)

It's very easy - simply put all ingredients into a food processor and blender, and blend until it reaches a mushy consistency that will hold together. Form into bars or little balls or whatever shape you like! Try cookie cutters for fun shapes (like unicorns or ninjas!) maybe. Then eat, or store in the fridge in an airtight container for an on-the-go snack later.

Enjoy!

Coconut Oil Cookies

Thank you, Michele, for introducing me to coconut oil. Michele is an old roommate of mine and my best friend up here at college. Plus she's a talented and lovely blogger than everyone should check out! Michi and I spent last Saturday together working on a project of hers and exploring pet stores and World Market. At the end of our day, we decided to make one of Chocolate Covered Katie's recipes (of course).

We didn't have all the ingredients for the one we chose, so we ended up modifying just a bit. From chocolate cookies stuffed with pumpkin, came coconut oil cookies stuffed with pumpkin-chocolate-peanut butter. Yeah.

I'm falling in love all over again just looking at these pictures.

Here's Katie's original recipe.

The substitutions made were leaving out the cocoa powder we didn't have and using chocolate peanut butter in place of regular peanut butter. But the most important addition was the use of coconut oil (new obsession alert). Katie doesn't specify in her recipe what oil she used, but I wouldn't recommend any other. Especially without the cocoa powder. Because it gave these cookies such flavor and also a really nice softness. Ugh. Delicious. Seriously. Myself, Michele, and her boyfriend Stephen all enjoyed them. I even shared some with my roommate and her parents, and they loved them too! 

Make these cookies. Either Katie's way or ours, I'm sure it will be amazing.