The Minimalist Kitchen(Opens in a new window) starts behind the doors and drawers of the kitchen, and helps pare your kitchen down to the essentials. This framework will touch everything in your kitchen from your ingredients, tools, pantry, to your cooking techniques, meal planning, and shopping habits. It’ll make the kitchen, and the recipes that follow, feel more doable.
A well-stocked pantry(Opens in a new window) is one of your best resources, for more than when the power goes out—it fuels the everyday. These oatmeal dough bites are some of the magic that can come from grabbing a little bit of this and a little bit of that from the pantry and throwing it into the blender. You’re left with protein-packed cookie dough bites for a wholesome post-lunch or afternoon treat. Store in the freezer for at-the-ready convenience. Note: These are not fit for on-the-go, as they become too warm and soft.
Dough Bites
Hands-on: 20 min. Total: 30 min. Yields: 38 balls
2 cups packed large flaked unsweetened coconut
11⁄2 cups old-fashioned oats
1⁄4 cup dried currants or raisins
1⁄4 cup chocolate chips
1⁄2 cup almond butter
1⁄2 cup honey
1⁄4 cup hemp seeds
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt
1⁄4 teaspoon cinnamon
Coating (optional)
1⁄2 cup unsweetened coconut shreds
Make the dough bites. In a high-powered blender or food processor, blend the coconut and oats into a fine powder. Add the currants and chocolate chips, and blend again to roughly chop.
Pour the coconut mixture into a large bowl(Opens in a new window). Add all of the remaining dough bite ingredients. Stir until evenly combined. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up.
Using a 2 teaspoon-sized spring-release scoop (0.3-ounce scoop/#60 scoop)(Opens in a new window), scoop the dough, rolling between your palms to create a ball. Roll each ball in coconut shreds, if desired. The coconut coating also acts as a barrier from the wet cookie dough texture. Place in a freezer-safe ziplock bag. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let stand for a minute or two at room temperature before eating to warm up a little.
Ingredient Tip: We use a lot of coconut around here as a garnish and in recipes. For that reason, we stock two unsweetened varieties—large flaked and shredded. That may seem excessive for a minimalist kitchen, but it’s best to stock what you actually use on a daily basis, and get rid of the rest.
Recipe from The Minimalist Kitchen: 100 Wholesome Recipes, Essential Tools, and Efficient Techniques by Melissa Coleman. © 2018 Melissa Coleman. Design and Photography © 2018 by Time Inc. Books, a division of Meredith Corporation.