New No Bake Memory

There is always that cookie that reminds you of your Yiayia’s (grandmother’s) house. That cookie that sparks so many memories. Whether you made it with just her, or with your mum, or your cousins, or occasionally if you were feeling nice, your little sister. Have it in your head? Are the sweet smells swarming around you as you read these words?

THAT cookie for me would be No Bake Oatmeal Cookies.

I remember the smells and sounds of her kitchen while we prepped and prepared these sweet little gems. We would anxiously circle my Yiayia while she stirred the peanut butter and chocolate, her always grabbing the oats at just the right time. We would anxiously grab our spoons and clump the mixture onto wax paper, our breaths growing quicker as we tried and get the cookies on before they cooled in the pot. After the stressful task of dolloping we would enjoy the bits of batter that stuck to our spoons. Then we waited. I cannot say patiently because inevitably one of us would end up with chocolate dipped fingertips from ‘testing’ to see if they had dried. Anyone who has made these know that you can visually tell when they have dried on the wax paper but we pretended that we didn’t of course.

Unfortunately my friends, when I have made these mementos outside of my Yiayia’s kitchen it’s just not the same. Maybe the memories that were created in her kitchen are so closely attached to that recipe that nothing can really compare. All the more reason to create something just as memorable though right? And lucky for me, one of the blogs I follow posted a no bake vegan almond butter chew recipe for me to try. Only 5 ingredients and 5 minutes of my time. Which was perfect timing for me because my son had a sleepover and I had to sate their sweet tooth cravings STAT. Trust me, if two hyper first graders demand sugar, you provide sugar. Unless you have a death wish.

I varied from “oh she glows” blog’s recipe slightly in ingredients but obviously our directions our the same.

Here is the link to her recipe:
http://ohsheglows.com/2011/01/05/5-minute-5-ingredient-no-bake-almond-butter-chews/

No Bake Vegan Almond Butter Chews

•1/4 cup chunky all-natural almond butter
•1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
•1 cup rice crisp cereal – I used Nature Path’s Organic Koala Crisp
•3 tbsp organic brown rice syrup
•2 tbs chopped bittersweet organic chocolate – I found a small container in the produce section of whole foods that was delicious!

Line a plate with parchment paper. In a medium sized bowl, stir together the almond butter,

brown rice syrup, and vanilla. Microwave on high for 45 seconds. Stir well and immediately add in the rice crisp cereal and chocolate. Stir until all the cereal is well coated.
Wet your hands thoroughly and shape the mixture into ‘golf-balls’. Press mixture together firmly so it will hold. Wet hands after each ball is formed so the mixture will not stick to your hands. Trust me you need to do this or you will make a sticky mess. Plus it makes it so much easier to form the cookies.

Place the balls onto parchment paper and freeze for 10 minutes. You can keep these chews in the freezer in a sealed container. I really enjoy them straight from the freezer. They remain nice and chewy.
Her blog Makes 7 golf-ball sized chews. I somehow managed 10-12 chews but I tend to not exactly measure my ingredients. Guilty… but I ended up with more chews so we aren’t complaining!