Quick and Cozy Plant Based Pumpkin Spice Snack Bites

Crisp, crunchy sounds accompany us as we traipse home from school each day. Fall swirls around us with cooler temperatures, leaves to rake, and opportunities to create cozy foods. Despite the uptick in activities and viruses, my family loves fall. We celebrate the new season with all the fall themed foods. Since I am getting into the homemade snack game, I needed to craft something my kids can bring to school. Pumpkin pie is a nostalgic, beloved food in our house so I took my inspiration from there. With nut-free snacks our only option, I crafted more nut-free, plant based snack bites to share with my child and you.

About the Recipe for Snack Bites

I strongly dislike extra steps in my snack preparations. Since I likely have a 1 year old pulling on my pants, a 4 year old “helping me” by adding bonus ingredients, and a 7 year asking me to do three other things. I can’t deal with complicated recipes. Many of the great energy bites out there include the need to roll the balls in an additional substance. Since that step drives me nuts (or should I say seeds), my snack bites recipe relies on absorbent ingredients. Bonus, things like oat flour and chia seeds have tons of fiber, omega 3 fatty acids, and protein to fuel all that fall fun.

One final note before you dive in. To make great snack bites, the chef must use observational skills and discretion. If the tasty ingredient mixture won’t hold its shape, then the cook will add more oat flout until it holds its shape. On the other end of the spectrum, we don’t want the mixture to be bone dry. Oats will continue to soak up moisture as time goes on so you are looking for a mixture that holds its shape but still feels pliable.

Quick and Cozy Plant Based Snack Bites

Ingredients

• 1/4 Cup Sun Butter (Tahini will also work)
• 1/2 Cup Oat Flour
• 3/4 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 4 oz. Pumpkin Puree
• 2 Tablespoons Chia Seeds
• 4 Tablespoons loosely packed Brown Sugar

Let’s Make Snack Bites Together

• 1. Start by mixing 2 Tablespoons Chia Seeds with 4 oz. Pumpkin Puree in a medium sized bowl. This will need to sit for about 5 minutes.
• 2. While the chia mixture is setting, grab another bowl and add 1/2 Cup Oat Flour, 3/4 Cup Old Fashioned Oats, and 1 & 1/2 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice.
• 3. In the chia seed mixture, add 1/4 Cup Sun Butter. Stir until incorporated. Then add 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract and 4 Tablespoons loosely packed Brown Sugar. Stir well until the ingredients all come together.
• 4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. (Don’t forget to take in the yummy smell of Fall!) Mix well.
• 5. Here comes those observational skills. Grab a pinch of the pumpkin spice snack bite mixture. Does it hold it’s shape well or does it slowly lose form? If it is too wet to hold its form, add oat flour a Tablespoon at a time until it keeps its shape. If that pinch of mixture seems really dry, try stirring it a few more times and if it still seems too dry add in more pumpkin or sunbutter 1 teaspoon at a time. Finally, taste the mix. If you want more “spice” add more pumpkin pie spice. If you like more sweetness you can add additional brown sugar or vanilla extract a teaspoon at a time.
• 6. If you have time, I suggest refrigerating your bowl of mixture for 30 minutes so that its a little tidier. If you don’t have time to wait you can move on to the final steps.
• 7. Scoop 1 Tablespoon of mix into your hand and roll into a compact ball. You will want to apply a bit of pressure to make sure it compacts well.
• 8. Refrigerate your cozy “Fall in a ball” snack bites. They need to be stored in the refrigerator but do not need to be in an insulated container if you send these in a lunch box or bring them on the go for the day.

I hope that you get a chance to feel the cozy, fall vibes by making these pumpkin spice plant based snack bites. Since they are so easy (without the stove or any chopping), this is a great recipe to make with your kids. For more Fall fun, try the Pumpkin Spice Granola Recipe as a whole family. If you have any questions or simply wish to meet a fellow snack enthusiast, you can send an email or drop a comment below.