I apologize in advance if you have a recipe just like this. I’ve seen these kind of energy bites around for ever now and all the recipes are very similar so if this happens to be anyone else’s exact recipe, I’m sorry! That being said, what I’m going to give you is more of a formula. You see, I never make these the same. The general amounts of things stay the same but the ingredients are always changing so I’ll tell you what are in these, but I’ll also give you my secret formula so you can make your own flavor combinations too 
I originally got this idea from a blog that’s no longer up and running, probably 3 years ago. A good friend of mine would come over to visit when we first moved into our house and we couldn’t keep our hands out of the freezer when there was a bag of these inside. They are so good. Sweet enough to be dessert but they’re quick and easy and a great source of energy. Plus some healthy fats and a good amount of fiber to help keep you feeling energized and satisfied.
They keep indefinitely in the freezer and I find them so much more addictive when they’re frozen almost solid. But if you’d much rather be able to sink your teeth into them at a moments notice you can keep them in a sealed container in the fridge and I’m sure they’ll last quite a while. Plus they’re much easier for kids to eat when they’re soft from the fridge. If you are making them for kids I would recommend making them smaller than I did as they do begin to “melt” after a few minutes in warm little hands
makes approximately 2 dozen depending on size
- 1/2 C nut butter(almond butter, peanut butter, sunflower seed butter or any other nut or seed butter. Anything will work here)
- 1/3 C honey(I believe brown rice syrup would also work. I’m not sure of thinner sweeteners such as maple syrup and agave though as they may not hold together as well)
- 1 C old fashioned rolled oats(you can toast for a nuttier flavor at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes)
- 1 C shredded unsweetened coconut(you can substitute any dry ingredients for this, wheat bran or germ, oat bran, some ground flax seed(I wouldn’t recommending using an entire cup!), any kind of ground nuts or seeds. For a cookie dough type bite try adding a few tablespoon of your favorite whole grain flour)
- 1-2 tsp vanilla
- pinch of sea salt if using a natural nut butter with no added salt
- 1-2 tsp your favorite spices or spice combinations(optional)
- 1/2 C other addins(any kind of whole or roughly chopped nuts or seeds, dried fruit, good quality chocolate chips, etc)
In a large bowl add the nut butter, honey or other sweetener, vanilla and salt if needed. Use less vanilla if yours is very strong or more if you really enjoy the vanilla flavor and don’t buy an alcohol based kind. If all your ingredients are room temperature you should be able to stir to combine. If this is difficult you can warm in the microwave for a few seconds or even place the bowl in an inch or two hot water for a few minutes to soften everything. Once this is combined add the remaining ingredients.
In this case I used almond butter and for my addins I used equal parts sesame seeds, poppy seeds and mini chocolate chips. Mix well. Once it’s all combined place in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Then remove from the fridge, scoop out some dough and roll into a ball. I find it’s much easier, and works better to squeeze the handful together to compact it and then roll it into a ball.
If yours are too sticky you can considering adding more dry ingredients into them or rolling them in something like ground nuts, coconut, etc so they aren’t as sticky. Place the balls in an airtight container either in the fridge or freezer for quick and easy snacks.
For a chocolate option, go to my Chocolate Energy Bites recipe
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These look great! I’ve seen lots of energy bite/ball recipes, but nothing quite like this…though I hear you on the whole “this recipe is everywhere” thing! haha. I thought I was so clever with one of my more recent recipes and a google search led me to discover I’m a little late to the party
ah, well.
Like you, though, I love having a template for something and just being able to adjust it to what I have and what flavors I’m craving.
Haha, that’s exactly what I mean. Although I know at least a couple of my readers don’t read too many blogs(yet!) so I don’t feel too bad about sharing something that’s been shared by a lot of other people.
They look addicitve! I would not be able to keep my hands off either!
I really need to make these already! Your basic recipe looks perfect.
Your pictures are amazing and making me want one of these right NOW! I wish I had a batch already made.
I love your formula!
YUM! These look delicious. I would probably add too many mix ins to make them healthy, but oh well.
Yes, yes, yes!!! We make these…(not exact recipe) and I never make mine the same either….I usually use whatever I have in the house….I have even ground up gluten free organic graham crackers to make a flour that I used in the recipe!!! And adding vegan chocolate chips is always fun!!!
Mmm, those graham cracker crumbs sound awesome in there! I’m going to try that next time I have homemade graham crackers! Yummy
Look great. Love the name too – energy bites! I love making little balls or bite-size treats with ingredients I have on hand
I was reading your recipe and thought it sounded so yummy … so as I’m looking through to see what all I currently have on hand I got to the spice/spice combination part … I’m looking for suggestions of what you or any other readers might suggest. All I could think of off hand was cinnamon. What are your suggestions for spices/spice combinations?
You can absolutely use cinnamon. You don’t have to add any spices if you don’t want to but I especially like adding pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice is great too. Even if you just want to add a pinch or two of cinnamon(or if you like them, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, or maybe even a pinch of cayenne if you like heat or any other spices you like) that would taste great
I made these today with lots of sea salt and nutella. Fantastic! Thanks for sharing
Do you know approximately how many calories are in them? They look yummy!
I’m sorry I don’t. There are a lot of variables in this recipe as well so if you do decide to make them you can google “recipe calorie calculator” to find a site that will calculate it for you and exactly for the recipe that you’ve made. I believe I’ve used one from spark people before. It’s very simple, just type in the amounts of each ingredient and the number of servings and it will tell you the exact calorie count.
I’ll tell you a place you can go to find out the calories to any recipe. You just have to put in the ingredients. Here:
http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
so given the ingredients and dividing it by 24 balls…it’s about 55 calories a ball…that’s pretty good!
That’s awesome, thank you so much for figuring that out
What could be an alternative to the nut butters, as we have allergies at our house?
You can use sunflower seed butter if no one is sensitive to that and if you enjoy the taste. I know if can be kind of bitter and not everyone enjoys it on it’s own, but you could also try tahini if no one is sensitive to sesame seeds. Also, if you can find it there’s also a nut butter substitute called SoyNut Butter made from soybeans.
30 yrs. ago when my kids were little I made a similar treat we called energy candy. Differences were half and half molasses and honey for the sweet (these were really sweet) and I used a product i am not sure is still available called Protein Powder by Shaklee, also i added raisins my original recipie did not have the oats ….wish I had thought of that then.
Adding cinnamon would help take out the sugar spike in the body’s metabolism. I am thinking of grinding dried apricots in place of the honey and making this for my Grands.
Do you know of any sprouted recipes like this? Or any Energy bar variations? I’m going to try this one, thanks!
These look so easy to make and yummy also. I think 5 out of my 6 children would eat these. My oldest does notlike nuts. I need to make some w/o just for him. thank you for sharing!
I live in a country where I cannot get old fashioned oats, only the quick cooking. Does anyone know if that will work? If not, what else could I use?
Absolutely! The quick cooking oats will work just fine
For something different you can really use any dry ingredient similar to oats like oat bran, wheat germ, any kind of ground up nuts, or even shredded coconut.
Where do you live where you can’t get old fashioned oats and why?
This would also be a good way to use up leftover cereal–like the good 1/2 cup of shredded wheat that is inevitably at the bottom of the bag.
Thanks for this recipe! Will oat bran flour work in place of the coconut? It’s all I have in my pantry….I put in 1 cup, but I think it turned into too much dry ingredients..I’ll have to wait and see! It’s going in fridge now..! Thanks!
oh my goodness. These things are AWESOME. The eat bran flour works, I just had to keep my hands wet so they would stick together better. they are soo yummy. Now I have to make sure I don’t eat too many of them!!! Thanks for recipe, can’t wait for hubby to try them when he gets home!
Any estimate of a calorie count?
Just whipped up a batch and they are chilling in the fridge.
I used sunflower seeds/ butter. Thanks for the great recipe!
P.S. Found you on MSM
I can’t wait to make these!! Easy and faster than granola bars and way more fun!!
I made these and my family is addicted!!! I have shared this link all over facebook. Thanks much!!!
These look like a great breakfast item for my husband and seem like they can freeze well! Excited to make them!
Wow I just made these, they are amazing. I was picking at them (eating them) while balling. I added protein scoops to them for a little extra protein for after workouts! Thanks for the recipe.
These look awesome! I’m trying to make some in hopes that they will be good car food. I added a teaspoon of cocoa powder instead of spices and they taste like a peanut butter cup!
Mmm, that sounds delicious! We love taking them places so hopefully they’ll work well for you too – they travel to well and the kids always love them as a snack
Just finished a batch. They taste great but they’re really crumbly. I’m hoping they firm up a bit in the freezer. Maybe they needed a bit more honey.
I made these and thought they were really good except that for me, 2 teaspoons of vanilla is waaay too much vanilla. I cut back to 1/2 teaspoon and liked these so much better that way.
Thanks for the recipe…I blogged about it today, actually!
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