These simple, gluten-free, no-bake cookie dough bites are our new favorite snack! Roll them into tiny balls and stir into ice cream, or do like we do and just press into a pan, cut, and eat as snacky little squares of cookie dough all day long.
It’s come to my attention that a lot of my snack recipes use nut or seed butter, which can be: a. a common allergy, and b. expensive. Not to mention, it’s nice to just have some variety in our lives now and then, amiright?
So, with that in mind, we’re making cookie dough bites with just six simple ingredients, zero of which are nuts or seeds. They’re also stored at room temperature, so you can just keep them on the counter to snack as needed, or pack them up to take on a hike or picnic or wherever else life may take you that requires snacks.
what you need to make these cookie dough bites
oat flour. I like to make it myself by blending rolled or quick oats in the blender/food processor until it looks like flour.
maple syrup. for moisture, natural sweetness, and a little hint of caramel-y flavor that mimics the brown sugar in traditional chocolate chip cookie dough.
vanilla. for that classic cookie dough flavor + a little extra depth.
salt. to balance out the sweetness and elevate all the flavors of the dough.
chocolate. preferably finely chopped from a bar of chocolate versus chips, but of course either works! fair trade and organic always. the darker the better if you’re my tastebuds.
and one final, extra special ingredient:
ghee. this lends a toasty, buttery flavor to the dough that is unparalleled by simply using melted butter or coconut oil. ghee is a game changer in the flavor of these bites so I highly recommend using it if you can!
what is ghee?
Ghee has its roots in ancient India, and is still a widely used cooking oil in India today. According to Ayurveda, ghee is deeply nourishing for the body and has several healing properties.
Ghee is made from butter that’s been melted, and the milk solids have been removed. Unlike clarified butter that’s also been melted with the milk skimmed off the top, ghee is cooked longer so it achieves a darker color and toastier flavor, much like browned butter. This essentially caramelizes the butter, making the end product extra flavorful. It is then strained to produce a shelf-stable cooking oil.
This makes ghee technically dairy-free as the lactose and casein have been removed.
You can find it on the shelves of most grocery stores near the oil, but I always just make my own every month. There’s an old tutorial saved in my Instagram story highlights if you want to try making your own (it’s super simple), or you can do a quick internet search and find thousands of ghee-making turotials out there.
Typically it’s my go-to oil for cooking, as it’s extra flavorful and can tolerate higher heat cooking. We also love just spreading it on toast, as it’s stored at room temperature and always has the consistency of soft butter.
And, in the case of these cookie dough bites, it adds the nutty, buttery flavor I usually associate with a baked cookie, but directly in the dough.
how to make cookie dough bites
Honestly, it doesn’t get much easier than this.
We’re stirring together the ghee, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt. Adding in the oat flour and chocolate. Pressing into a baking pan (just to help give it a shape- you could also roll them into balls or press out into a rough rectangle on your countertop). Cutting into little bite-sized pieces. Eating one.
Or ten.
If you’re a fan of cookie dough, I seriously think these are going to become your new obsession. I am not exaggerating even a little bit when I say I made four batches of them in the span of two weeks last month…and not because I was working on perfecting the recipe, but because we legitimately kept wanting to eat more of them.
And, unlike many things that I eat nonstop for a few weeks and then get sick of, these no-bake cookie dough bites are showing zero signs of growing old. I might go make another batch today.
I hope you do, too.
If you try them, let me know what you think! Leave a comment below, or take a picture of your cookie dough bites and share it with me on Instagram so I can see!!
No-Bake Cookie Dough Bites (made with ghee!)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup ghee
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 1/2 cups oat flour
- 1/2 cup finely chopped dark chocolate
Instructions
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Stir ghee, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt together in a mixing bowl. The ghee and maple syrup won't want to fully emulsify, and that's fine. Just stir them up. Add oat flour and chocolate, and stir until fully incorporated.
- Dump mixture into prepared loaf pan, and use the back of a spoon and/or your hands to press it out into a flat layer. If your dough is very sticky at this point, place in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm. If yours feels like it could be sliced right away, lift the parchment out of the pan, and use a knife to cut into 18 squares.
- Eat immediately, or transfer to a container with a lid and keep at room temperature for up to 5 days.