It happens every year without fail: in February, the blogosphere goes chocolate-crazy. It’s no surprise, considering Valentine’s Day and chocolate go hand-in-hand—chances are, you’ll bake, eat, give, or receive something chocolatey on V-Day.
Or will you? Maybe you’re feeling chocolated out right now. Maybe you can’t stand the idea of another sickeningly-sweet V-Day dessert. Maybe you want something a little different this year. Or maybe you simply waited till the last minute to figure out a good Valentine’s treat to make, and now you’re scrambling! In any case, I have the perfect recipe for you.
These pretty-in-pink berry-ful cookie bites are like your favorite group of girlfriends. They’re sweet, but not too sweet. They’ve got a tart edge to them to keep you on your toes. They’re cute and colorful, yet totally low-maintenance. They support your health goals, but they also help you indulge a sweet tooth. They’re always there for you when you need them, hanging out in the fridge. Wait, what? ; )
Treat yourself and/or your sweetheart to a batch of these no-bake, quick-to-make, all-natural, healthful, and flavorful little sweet-tart treatlets this Valentine’s Day.
Note: To add tartness, antioxidants, and extra color to these cookies, I use some Navitas Naturals pomegranate powder. Navitas actually makes a whole line of superfood/superberry powders that would work beautifully in this recipe. You could just as easily try it with goji or açaí powder, or even maqui berry or goldenberry powder! But of course, if you don’t have any such superfood powder on hand in your pantry, simply omit it from the recipe—no problem at all. These little bites of heaven will still be nutritious and berrylicious all the same.
Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free, Oil-Free, Sugar-Free
Grain-Free Variation; Low-Calorie, Raw
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry raw cashews
- ½ cup dry raw macadamia nuts
- ½ cup rolled oats (certified gluten-free if desired)
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate powder (optional)
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon strawberry extract or vanilla extract
- Scant 1 cup mixed dried berries (*see note in step 4 below)
- ½ cup pitted dates
Instructions
- Combine the cashews, macadamia nuts, and oats in a food processor. Pulse until the nuts and oats are finely ground.
- Add the pomegranate powder, if using, and sea salt and pulse to combine.
- Add the lemon juice and strawberry or vanilla extract and pulse again to combine.
- Add the berries, ½ cup at a time, and pulse until well-incorporated. (*You can use any type or combination of dried berries/fruit that you like, but pink ones look especially nice here. I used a mix of dried cranberries, golden raisins, dried cherries, and dried blueberries. Plain, soft raisins are another suitable option. You could even use dried mulberries or soaked goji berries!)
- Finally, add the dates to the food processor.
- Pulse until all the dried fruit is well-incorporated and the mixture is homogenous. It should stick together when pressed between your fingers.
- At this point, you can shape your cookies in any way you like! The simplest method is to scoop up the "dough," 1-2 tablespoons at a time, and roll it into a ball between your palms. Another option is to use your hands to mold the dough into flat, cookie-shaped disks. Yet another option is to transfer the dough to a large sheet of waxed paper, pat it into a thick circle or rectangle, use a rolling pin to roll it out flat (about 1/4-1/3 inch thick), and cut fun shapes out of it with a knife or cookie cutters. Or you can do what I did: press the dough into chocolate/candy molds to create fun shapes!
- Because I created this recipe for Valentine's Day, I had to make an army of rosy-hued little hearts. However, I also used a silicone mini bundt cake mold to make teeny bundt cookies!
- Transfer the formed cookies to the fridge to chill until ready to eat. Store the cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month.
Notes
Grain-Free Variation:
Replace the oats with unsweetened shredded coconut.
Chef's Tip:
I used macnuts and cashews for their creamy texture, mild flavor, and light color, but you're welcome to use any other nuts you prefer.
Aren’t they just cute as buttons?!
Although the hearts are the classic shape choice for V-Day, I’m kind of obsessed with how awesome the little bundt cookies came out.
Cashews and macadamias provide crunchy-creamy nuttiness, while the oats add bulk and cut the fat content a little.
The lemon juice and pomegranate powder help make the cookies tangy and tart alongside the array of jewel-like dried berries.
I served a huge platter of these at a party that Matt and I threw last weekend, and they were an absolute hit.
No one ever guessed they’re also “health food”!
And if it’s just not a proper Valentine’s Day for you without some cacao involved, here are some ideas for how to “chocolatize” this recipe:
- Pulse 1/3 cup cacao powder or cocoa powder into the dough after step 6 for chocolate-berry cookies.
- Pulse ¼ cup cacao nibs or mini chocolate chips into the dough after step 6 for chocolate chip-berry cookies.
- Roll the cookies into balls, then roll the balls in cacao powder or cocoa powder for cocoa-dusted berry cookie truffles.
- Prepare the Chocolate Silk Ganache on page 93 of Practically Raw (or this raw chocolate-hazelnut ganache). Dip the chilled cookies (partially or entirely) into the ganache, set on a plate lined with waxed paper, and chill until firm for chocolate-dipped berry cookies.
- Take a square of your favorite dark chocolate bar, place a cookie on top of it, and enjoy just like that for chocolate-berry cookie stacks.
There are adorable! I was thinking of doing something similar for V-day using cherries.
BTW – How much do you love Nuts.com!?
You could totally use all dried cherries for the “1 scant cup dried berries” in this recipe!
Nuts.com? I can’t even begin to speak of my love affair with them. If you browse the tour of my kitchen, you can spot DOZENS of nuts.com bags. Love love love them!
I really do appreciate this. All the heart-shaped chocolate raspberry bulls#!t that oozes all over the web at this time of year makes me want to gag myself. These sound scrumptious, and with spring looming ahead I’m already anticipating berry season, so these little treats are just what I need right now.
Haha! Well, clearly I indulged in a little heart-shaped BS, myself
but I definitely wanted something decidedly NOT chocolate this year (actually, most years). So I went the tart ‘n fruity route. You’re right, these make me even more anxious for spring!
Amber, you’re a genius! These are beautiful and I’m sure deeelicious! Can’t wait to make them.
Hehe, thanks Dana!
So cute. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thanks Shannonmarie – happy V-Day to you too!
I’ve been waiting for this post ever since the party; these were SPECTACULAR! They taste like SweeTarts without the icky chalkiness. Now I want to try all the “chocolatizing” options; I can’t resist the idea of a bitter-y dark chocolate harmonizing with the berries.
Happy Valentine’s Day to you and Matt! ♥
Why thank ya! So happy you liked them. There were only a handful left at the end of the night, which I may have drunkenly scarfed down just before falling into bed…
Happy V-Day to you two too!
Pretty!!!!!! I could use some of those right now. I just polished off a big ole slice of vegan strawberry cake with chocolate buttercream and feeling a little bleh (cake was delicious though!). Need some healthy to balance.
Damn, that cake DOES sound delicious. But you’d love these too.
Yummy! Tried these and even though my food processor is the worst ever and I am in the market for a new one ASAP. These where yummy, didn’t look the same but taste and looks don’t have to coinside do they?
Thanks for a great blog!
Hehe, quite right! It’s the taste that matters most.
Glad you liked ‘em!
Oh, this is exactly the kind of fancypants treat recipe that makes my heart sing, but it’s so out of my budget that I fear it’s already dropped beyond the horizon.
LOVE the little bundt cuties!
Aw, but why? You can leave out the pomegranate powder! But no matter – come back here and I’ll make them FOR you.
Nuts are expensive, fancy dried berries are expensive, pom powder, strawberry extract, and I haven’t had an income for 6 months and am at an unpaid internship! But no matter, this recipe is aspiration all
And yes. You can make it for me when I return 
Darn autocorrect! ‘aspirational’!
Well now, you do know the pom powder and strawb extract are *completely optional* (other readers, please take note!), but I’m sad to hear you can’t stock up on nuts and dried fruit right now. Soon, I hope you will be able to replenish your stores, so that you may roll many balls betwixt your hands and place them in your mouth.
I’M SO ALONE.
Don’t break my heart like that! Come back to KC and you’ll never be alone.
Yum, I can’t wait to try these! And way to think beyond the expected. I do like chocolate, but I really didn’t need my reader overflowing with chocolate recipes for two weeks straight!
These sound like the perfect antidote to the recently sugar- and chocolate-overloaded blogosphere.
Thanks Bobbie! If you like sweet-tart flavors, you’ll love these.
Aww, these are the cutest things. I love the shapes. I’ve never heard of pomegranate powder, sounds lovely. Thank you for sharing this with Healthy Vegan Fridays. Check back on Friday to see if you were one of the Top 3! We hope to see you again this week. You can submit a post from Friday to end of Tuesday:
http://www.greenthickies.com/healthy-vegan-friday
Thanks Katherine! Pomegranate powder is delicious and nutritious, my favorite combo.
Amber! I am featuring these on this week’s Healthy Vegan Friday! Thanks for sharing them!
I really love these, especially since they have some ingredients I’ve never tried before like pomegranate powder and strawberry extract. I need to get my hands on some of these and start experimenting!
Hope to see you back again this week!
Thank you so much for featuring these in your picks this week, Gabby! I hope you get to try them at some point – even without the pom powder and strawb powder, they are delightfully poppable, and nutritious and delicious.
[...] Sensible Yet Scrumptious Snack: Berry-Pomegranate Cookie Bites from Chef Amber [...]
Hi Chef Amber, this recipe looks amazing!!! Is there a way I could adapt this for my daughter, who has a tree nut allergy…perhaps by using seeds? (If not, I’ll make it for me and my husband!) I appreciate your feedback.
Hi Corri! Though I haven’t tried it this way myself, and therefore I can’t personally vouch for it, I think it would work nicely if you replaced the cashews with sunflower seeds and the macnuts with unsweetened shredded coconut. Let me know if you try it that way!
Thank you so much! I will try it that way and get back to you. Just ordered your book…can’t wait to try that, too! You rock!
Hi there! Made these today with your coconut and sunflower seed subs–they are freaking delicious, but I think because I used Let’s Do Organic reduced fat shredded coconut, they fell apart too easily as little hearts. However, as frozen truffles, they are amazing and hold together marvelously. I’ll try them again someday with regular shredded coconut. My 4 year old daughter was very happy to have these nut-free treats
(me too)
SO thrilled to hear that, Corri! Yes, using reduced-fat coconut would definitely have affected the texture, but freezing them sounds like it was the perfect solution. Enjoy!