Nut-Free Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites

1 1/2 cups of hulled pumpkin seeds (also called pepitas)

1/2 cup mini dark chocolate chips (these are the ones I used)

1 1/2 cups dates, pitted

1/8 teaspoon finely ground sea salt

2 tablespoons water

1/4 cup shredded coconut for rolling (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pour hulled pumpkin seeds into your food processor and run until finely ground.  Pour into a medium bowl and set aside.

2. Place the pitted dates in the (now empty) food processor and run. Make sure you evenly distribute the dates in the food processor. Dates are taxing on food processors and we want not make the job harder on this beloved (and needed) appliance. Run until the dates are well chopped and form a ball in the food processor. Now, brace yourself.  This step might cause your food processor to shake. Just hold it down with your hand for your own peace of mind and it’ll all be over in a minute or two.

4. Once the dates have formed a ball in your food processor, add the pumpkin seeds, chocolate chips, and sea salt to the food processor and run until everything is well combined.  You may need to scrape down the sides of the food processor and run it again to make sure everything gets mixed in.

5. The mixture may appear crumbly.  Using clean wet hands (this helps the date batter from sticking to you) smoosh and roll the date mixture into golf ball sized bites. Arrange them on a plate or cookie sheet. If the mixture is too crumbly to form balls easily, add the water to the food processor and run again to help the mixture be sticky enough to hold together.

6. Once done rolling the bites, pop them into the freezer for an hour to harden up a bit. After, you can garnish them by rolling them in shredded coconut, but this is an optional step!

7. Store in an air-tight container for 7 days in your fridge or freezer.