These are a great alternative to pastries or cookies make with lots of white sugar and flour. And they are very tasty. They won’t make you spin out of control on a sugar high, because there isn’t any! Using whole grains and natural sweeteners keeps your blood sugar from spiking.

Recipe makes around 16 cookies

1 Cup Nuts – almonds, cashews or walnuts
1 Cup Oats
½ cup Brown rice flour
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
½ teaspoon cardamom powder (optional)
¼ teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons of Ghee or Coconut Oil
4 Tablespoons of Maple Syrup or other liquid sweetner like Brown Rice Syrup
3 Tablespoons of Apple juice
2 Teaspoons of vanilla
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
½ cup chocolate chips – vegan chips, carob chips, or dark chocolate chips

Grind the nuts and oats in a blender or food processor. Mix with the brown rice flour, cinnamon, cardamom and salt. Combine the ghee/coconut oil, maple syrup, apple juice, vanilla and apple cider vinegar. Add to the flour/nut mixture and stir well. Add the chocolate chips and stir. Bake at 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Delicious Date Balls
This is a great recipe for combating summertime heat. It is a non-chocolate way to get your sweet fix!

1 cup whole dried pitted dates
2 tbsp. water
2 tbsp. brown rice syrup or honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. organic tangerine peel or orange peel
¼ cup blanched almonds chopped
¼ cup brown sugar, shredded coconut or ground almonds or peanuts for rolling

Chop the dates finely, mix the dates, water, rice syrup, vanilla, and tangerine peel in a small heavy skillet an cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes or until all the water has evaporated off and the dates are a thick mass. The thicker it is, the easier it is to work, stir in the almonds and let cool. When cool, form into 1 inch balls. Roll the balls in sugar to get them dry enough to serve. You can vary this recipe by using other dried fruits like apricots or raisins with the dates. You can also use sesame or flax seeds instead of the almonds.