Picture this.
You’re eight years old, sitting in the cafeteria at school, about to open your lunch box. The “lunch monitors” have finally gotten off their high horses. That is, they’ve finally stopped telling you to be quiet in the hallway, acting like their job is ten times more important than it is.
You open your lunchbox, and next to the salami sandwich, pretzels, kiwi and a cookie, is a box of raisins. RAISINS. The audacity.
The worst part is that the sad excuse of a fruit that you told your mom ten times not to pack you isn’t even tradeable. Let’s be real. Who wants wrinkly raisins when you can trade for Oreos, Lunchables and Bugles? (Ew.) And how disappointed are you when you think you’re about to eat a chocolate chip cookie and it turns out to be oatmeal raisin? The nerve!
Okay, I admit it. I use to hate raisins. Guilty. I won't ever prefer them in a cookie over chocolate chips, but I can confidently say that nowadays, I enjoy raisins. But if you hate raisins, I totally get it. Feel free to leave them out and double the chocolate chips if you're a raisin hater. No shame.
Going back to school = time for new snackity snacks. Balls, bites, healthy muffins, no-bake watchamakalits and all that jazz. I'm down to the last two of my beloved lemon poppyseed muffins. I've been eating one every day around 3pm with or without an iced coffee with a splash of soy from Cup O Joe. It's the best iced coffee ever. Bite, sip, repeat.
These are like the healthy no-bake version of the classic oatmeal raisin cookies. All you do is dump everything in a bowl (no food processor required), so they're super easy to make. No, they don't taste like soft, pillowy, buttery, hot outta the oven likeyourgrandmausedtomake oatmeal cookies, but if you want something tasty, healthy, portable and no-bake, these are definitely the next best thing. They're pretty forgiving, so feel free to add coconut, walnuts, chia seeds or a splash of vanilla.
I haven't tried making these with any other liquid sweetener, so I'm not sure if they would stick together as well with pure maple syrup or agave. Feel free to try and report back if you do! These are slightly sweet from the two itty bitty tablespoons of honey and bites of chocolate chips and raisins here and there, but they're definitely not as sweet as your standard cookie. If you're making these for dessert, you could toss in a little brown sugar. Live a little!
Your lunchbox is calling.
Oatmeal Cinnamon Raisin Chip Bites
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Snacks
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- ¼ cup almond meal
- 2 tbsp almond butter (or sunflower seed butter)
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp almond milk
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- dash of salt
- ¼ cup raisins
- 2 tbsp mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Dump all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. Using your hands to mix may help it come together more quickly!
- Form into about 8 small balls. Store in the fridge for about a week or in the freezer for months.
Looking for more bites? Try my Mexican hot chocolate bites or chocolate chia peanut butter chia bites.
Victoria says
Stumbled across this post a little late but let me just tell you... super delish! Looove them and their poppable-ness.
Thank you !!
Jen says
These look delicious! My son is allergic to nuts. Is there a substitute for the almond meal? Thank you!
Alexis says
Maybe ground sunflower seeds if he isn't allergic to seeds? Or more oats?
April says
These are crazy good. I added chia seeds, a tad more almond butter and may have been generous on both raisins and mini chips. They were hard to form into balls at first so I stuck the mixture in the fridge - a couple hours later, muuuch easier. They taste SO good - sorta like cookie dough to me. And I got like 13 balls out of it! Boom. My kitchen will be seeing these again. Alexis you're a genius! Yum. Make these, people. You won't regret it.
Alexis says
Being generous is never a bad thing, espesh when we're talking chocolate. I mean duh. Have I told you lately that I lurve you?
Beth says
Hey Alexis,
These are soooo good. I made a few substitutions but can't rave enough about how good they are for a snack. Perfectly sweet and cinnamon-y. To me, they taste a bit like a cinnamon donut hole. I will be making these again and again. I liked them cold and ate the whole batch in one day. Such a breeze to make and great flavor combo. You come up with such good recipes!
Beth
Alexis says
Hey Beth! I'm SO happy to hear how much you're enjoying the bites. I agree--they the perfect amount of sweetness! I've been storing them in the fridge and grabbing one as a snack...they taste amazing cold! Thanks for reading 🙂
Khushboo Thadani says
I am in the minority but I actually love raisins, both plain and in cookie form! I love when apple pies contain raisins so I'm thinking a little applesauce thrown into the mix could only take these balls up a notch :)!
V says
Looks awesome. I've always liked raisins.
p.s. I miss those Bugles! lol
Alexis says
Hope your hubby likes 'em!
Tara | Treble in the Kitchen says
Little balls like this make great snacks for me and my husband!! The cinnamon and raisin combo sounds amazing.
Christina @ The Beautiful Balance says
Definitely not a raisin hater so sign me up for a batch of these! True story, when I was younger my mom would pack Lunchables (when she was lazy 😛 ) and I would trade for fruit, including boxed raisins! Wild child I tell you.