No-Bake Tahini Chocolate Chip Energy Balls

Hey ya hello hi. Guess what? It’s hot out. Finally. And it’ll be summer. This weekend! Officially. YAYYYYY.

Which means. It’s time to bang out the no-bake summer recipes. The recipes that require no stovetop or oven time whatsoever. The desserts that are raw and ready to rumble.

And boy have I got the no-bake recipe for you. No-bake tahini chocolate chip energy balls. So quick and easy. One bowl (well, food processor). Wholesome and hearty. Gluten-free and energy-rich. Breakfasty and snacky. They be balls of bombness.

These nutrient-dense, earthy snack balls consist of just six ingredients:

• Rolled oats. Use gluten-free ones, if you so desire. The oats are ground up and are our base for these energy balls. Some more of them are also stirred in whole at the end for chewy, textured happiness.

• Tahini. Creamy, tasty, rich, earthy, nutty. It binds our no-bake balls together and adds all that fatty good stuff.

• Maple syrup. This is our (only) sweetener. Silky, sweet, so good.

• Vanilla extract. Always.

• Salt. Always.

• Chocolate chips. Mini ones. Cuz the balls are on the smaller side. Chocolatey, crunchy, added sweetness, added joy.

And that’s it. Those are our big six.

Although. You can add an optional seventh ingredient: coconut. If you wanna garnish up your tahini chocolate chip energy balls, roll ‘em in some unsweetened coconut shards. Especially if you’re all about that tropical coconut flavor.

These raw snack balls come together in minutes.

Blend together the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips and remaining oats. Refrigerate the mixture for a bit so that it firms and is easier to shape. Then roll that dough into balls of desired size and have them take a whirl in those coconut shreds if you so choose.

And then. Store the tahini energy balls in the freezer. For months on end. Kidding, they’ll be consumed way before that amount of time. But. Technically. These no-bake bites can be stored in your freezer that long.

Anyway.

Store the balls in your freezer, and pop one or five in whenever the urge for a rich, chewy, delicious, nutrient-dense, oaty, chocolatey, sweet treat arises.

You can also store the energy balls in the fridge for like a week.

Chewy and dense and soft. Rich and nutty and flavorful and sweet and earthy. Wholesome and hearty and quick and easy. No-bake and gluten-free. Oaty and nutty and chocolatey and mapley.

No-bake tahini chocolate chip energy balls — I gotchu in my freezer, on my mind, and imminently, melting on my tongue.

No-Bake Tahini Chocolate Chip Energy Balls

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Yield: about 16 balls

1 1/3 cups rolled oats, divided
1/4 cup tahini
4-5 tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
-Unsweetened coconut shreds, for garnishing (optional)

1. In a food processor, blend together 1 cup of the rolled oats with the tahini, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth. Stir in the remaining 1/3 cup oats and the chocolate chips by hand.

2. Refrigerate mixture for at least 30 minutes, until firmed. Roll dough into balls of desired size. Roll in coconut if desired. Store in the freezer and eat straight from the freezer :) Alternatively, store in fridge up to a week.