Mint Chocolate Snack Bites

As Girl Scout cookies season is upon us, my appetite for thin mints (and anything else uniting chocolate and mint flavors) has returned with a vengeance. I made mint chocolate chia pudding for breakfast several days ago to satiate my appetite, but that was not enough. That’s why I decided to make some mint chocolate snack bites.

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

Makes about 17 bites

Prep Time: 25 minutes; Cooking Time: None

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

Directions

1. 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.
2. Add in peppermint extract, cocoa powder, water, and honey and mix ingredients together.
3. Fold in cacao nibs and chocolate chips.
4. Form about a tablespoon of dough into a ball and repeat until all the dough is used.
5. 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!