Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Honeybee No-Bakes

These almond-buttery, coconutty no-bake cookies are a favorite of ours all year long, not just at Easter. Roll them into small balls and store in the refrigerator for a quick treat.

Just Like Honey is a honey substitute made from brown rice syrup, and it really does taste, well, just like honey! Agave nectar is another vegan honey substitute that is generally available at supermarkets and natural food stores.

makes about 33 honeybees

1 ½ cups oat bran
1 cup very finely shredded coconut flakes (sweetened or
unsweetened, your choice)
1/8 cup cocoa or carob powder, plus extra for decorating
1 TB vanilla extract
¼ cup almond butter
½ cup “Just Like Honey” or agave nectar
Sliced almonds


For this recipe the coconut flakes should be very small -- just a bit larger than the oat bran flakes. If they are too big, pulse them down to size in a food processor fitted with the metal S blade.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the oat bran, coconut, 1/8 cup cocoa or carob powder, vanilla, almond butter, and liquid sweetener. Knead well with your hands until the mixture holds together well.

Pinch off bits of dough (about 2 tsp.), roll them into ovals and place them on the baking sheet. Dip your fingers into a bowl of water if necessary to keep the dough from sticking.

Dip a toothpick into cocoa or carob powder and press two or three lines into the top of each “honeybee” to create stripes. Gently insert an almond slice into each side to resemble wings.

Store in the refrigerator.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

These sound delicious! I'm so excited to find a new and yummy sounding sweet recipe. Thanks for the recipe, just like always!

Anonymous said...

What is oat bran? Can I make it by finely processing quick cooking oatmeal, or is it something completely different? Could I use oatmeal instead? This look so great I can't wait to try.

Anonymous said...

bagwasher- oat bran is the bran of oats. i believe it's the outside of an oat. you can find it at any grocery store. i usually get it from the bulk bins. it's quite cheap and very nutritious.

Jennifershmoo said...

Hi, bagwasher! Yes, you can pulse oatmeal in a food processor to make oat bran; it's finer than quick oats but not as fine as oat flour. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

i know i'm being a jerk by posting here sort-of anonymously rather than the vegan lunch box, so feel free to delete this comment if you want. but i'm not a troll, i swear! i really don't want to join blogger right this second, but i DO want to tell you the name of another veggie forum that i frequent before i forget.

anyway. your readers might like http://www.vegweb.com/qa - vegweb has some really good recipes and the Q&A section is really informative and fun. so yeah. that's all.

Jennifershmoo said...

Hi, Amy! Although I haven't tried it, I have seen rice bran at the health food store. Perhaps that would be a good alternative?

Anonymous said...

Amy, I have seen a recipe for something very similar without oats:
1/2 c. Peanut butter; 1 tbs. honey (or substitute); 1/3 c. milk powder; 4 tbs. shredded coconut and/or sesame seeds; cocoa powder and sliced almonds.
I guess they are less cookie-like and more peanut-butter-blobs, but they look exactly the same! I hope your kids can enjoy honeybees this way.

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed these, and so did my friends who came over after I made them and raided my fridge. =) I forgot that I had oat bran in stock, so I pulsed the whole oat grain (old-fashioned kind) and they were great! I also used half brown rice syrup and half honey, and used peanut butter b/c that's what I had on hand. I will definitely be making these again as they are a very easy, nutrient dense snack.

Eat Peace Please said...

Jennifer, I made these and they turned out great! They were super-cute and super-tasty. Thank you for the idea and recipe. I used 1/2 agave nectar and 1/2 brown rice syrup as the "honey alternative".

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much! :)

I finally got around to make these today and they're great. I've been thinking for quite some time that I needed to come up with a healthier version of the no bake cookies I loved as a kid, without the ton of margarine and sugar. This fits the bill perfectly!

Goodlife Dubai said...

I don't know if you can find it in your neck of the woods, but out here in Dubai I use Date honey. It's sweet and rich and fabulous on pancakes, as a sweetener in baked goods -- I use it instead of white sugar in loads of muffin recipes. Try Lebanese markets if there is such a thing near you!

I'm going to try this with rice bran, as my son is hypersensitive to wheat, and oats are usually cross-contaminated.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know how much fat/suger are in each serving? (: