I have combed through numerous snack bite recipes lately and even made some nutty lime and coconut bites for myself. Interestingly, a lot of these recipes called for medjool dates. I found that rather curious, as medjool dates are similar to turkish apricots, yet I could not find any snack bite recipes that used the latter. To my untrained palate, both dried fruits have similar profiles: they’re brown, soft, chewy, and sweet. So why is there so much love for medjool dates and not for turkish apricots?
(Nutritional information gathered from MyFitnessPal.com.)
I decided to put turkish apricots to the test and used it to make my mint chocolate snack bites.
Mint Chocolate Snack Bites
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup turkish apricots
- 1/4 cup cashews
- 1/4 cup pistachios
- 1/4 cup flaked coconut, unsweetened
- 2 TBS cocoa powder
- 1/2 TBS peppermint extract
- 1 TBS water
- 1 TBS honey or agave nectar
- 1 TBS cacao nibs
- 1 1/2 TBS chocolate chips
Instructions
- Place the turkish apricots, nuts, and coconut into a food processor and blend until all ingredients are thoroughly chopped. Empty all contents into a bowl.
- Add in peppermint extract, cocoa powder, water, and honey and mix ingredients together.
- Fold in cacao nibs and chocolate chips.
- Form about a tablespoon of dough into a ball and repeat until all the dough is used.
- Eat immediately or refrigerate for about 1 to 2 hours so that the dough can harden. Store in refrigerator.
The Verdict: A Good, Less Sweet Alternative to Medjool Date Snack Bites
I quite liked using turkish apricots because the snack bites were less sweet. My family thought that the chocolate snack bites I made last time (with medjool dates) were too sweet for them, but they were a fan of these mint chocolate bites. I added some honey to the mix (probably out of an abundance of caution), but I will skip the honey next time and see what happens to the taste. The turkish apricots were also less sticky than medjool dates, so I had to add some water in the mixture for the ingredients to bind better.
Try these out, and let me know what you think!
Angie says
This isn’t vegan, it has honey in it.
Lisa says
Hi Angie,
Thank you very much for pointing that out to me! I did some research on Google after reading your comment, and I can see why honey is not vegan. I have since altered my recipe a bit–giving the option of using honey or agave nectar and removed the vegan tag from the recipe.
I value your feedback greatly a and hope that you still give this recipe a try!
Lisa says
(Without the honey, of course)