Nine ingredients, fifty minutes with the chilling, and no oven at all.
The binder here is sunflower-seed butter rather than a nut butter, and the pale slivers on the outside are coconut. Neither peanut nor tree nut is part of the recipe.
Ingredient Notes
- Sunflower-seed butter
- Half a cup. It is the binder, and it is what keeps the recipe free of peanut and tree nut.
- Dried cranberries and dried cherries
- Half a cup of each - the red and dark red pieces through every bite.
- Rolled oats
- A cup and a half, used raw. They give the bites their texture.
- Coconut, two ways
- Half a cup of shredded coconut in the mix, with two tablespoons of flakes pressed onto the outside.
What Holds a No-Bake Bite Together
Nothing is cooked here, so the only thing making eighteen bites hold their shape is the ratio of sticky to dry. Shares are drawn from the measures for the bar only.
- Rolled oats1 1/2 cups
- Unsweetened shredded coconut1/2 cup
- Dried cranberries1/2 cup
- Chopped dried cherries1/2 cup
- Sunflower-seed butter1/2 cup
- Honey1/3 cup
The last two lines are the binder: THE PALE SLIVERS ARE COCONUT AND THE BINDER IS SUNFLOWER-SEED BUTTER PLUS HONEY, SO THERE IS NO PEANUT OR TREE-NUT INGREDIENT. They are STIRRED TOGETHER UNTIL SMOOTH with 1 tsp VANILLA and 1/4 tsp SALT before meeting the dry side, then FOLDED IN UNTIL EVENLY STICKY - with a 15-MINUTE CHILL if the mixture is too soft to shape. The bites are ROLLED INTO 18 COMPACT BITES, have 2 tbsp of COCONUT FLAKES PRESSED INTO THE OUTSIDE, and are CHILLED AT LEAST 30 MINUTES BEFORE SERVING.
How to Make It
Oats, coconut, cranberries and cherries mixed
Mix the oats, coconut, dried cranberries and dried cherries in a bowl.
Sunflower-seed butter, honey, vanilla and salt stirred smooth
Stir the sunflower-seed butter, honey, vanilla and salt together until smooth.
Folded together, chilled briefly if too soft to shape
Fold the wet mixture into the oats and fruit until evenly sticky. Chill 15 minutes if the mixture is too soft to shape.
Rolled into eighteen bites with coconut pressed on
Roll into 18 compact bites and press a few visible coconut slivers into the outside.
Chilled at least 30 minutes before serving
Chill at least 30 minutes before serving.
Why This Recipe Works
- Stirring the wet ingredients smooth first means they coat the oats evenly.
- Sunflower-seed butter has the body of a nut butter and holds the oats together the same way.
- Honey adds enough stickiness that the bites hold without any pressing tool.
- A short chill firms a soft mixture just enough to roll cleanly.
- Pressing the coconut slivers onto the outside keeps them visible instead of buried.
Success Tips
- Chop the dried cherries roughly so no single piece dominates a bite.
- Wet your palms lightly if the mixture sticks while you roll.
- Give the bites their full half hour in the fridge; they firm up considerably.
Serving Ideas
Eighteen chilled bites, each showing oats, red cranberries, dark cherries and coconut, with a few pale coconut slivers pressed into the outside.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do these contain nuts?
No. The binder is sunflower-seed butter, and the pale slivers are coconut. No peanut or tree nut is used.
What does the name mean?
It is the usual category name for no-bake oat bites of this kind. The recipe makes no claim about energy, performance or health.
What if the mixture won't hold?
Chill it for fifteen minutes and try again. Cold firms the sunflower-seed butter and honey enough to roll.
