Growing up, I was a chocolate chip girl.

Shortbread, the Plain Jane that it is, wasn’t even worthy of calling itself a cookie.

Snickerdoodles, though a fun word to say, were missing pizzazz.

Peanut butter cookies, with their back-of-fork indentations, were pretty stellar (I mean, peanut butter was basically the only sandwich topping I ate in those days, so why wouldn’t I like it in cookie form?), but they still didn’t hold a candle to an ooey-gooey, warm-from-the-oven, chocolate chip cookie.

But the true tease, the anti-cookie of childhood, was oatmeal raisin.

Raisins, with their awful, shriveled skin, had some kind of nerve pretending to be a chocolate chip! I had no problem with the oats, but the raisins got me every time. Blasphemy!

Luckily, I’ve evolved since then, and while I’m still partial to chocolate (old loves never die), I happen to adore oatmeal raisin cookies (or variations of them like oatmeal-cranberry). You could even say they’re my raisin d’être.

(Too much?…)

Anyway, raisins no longer haunt me, and they’re perfect in these healthy snack bites. With no added sugar (they’re naturally sweetened from the dates/raisins), these are the perfect snack.

Oatmeal-Raisin Cookie Bites

yields approximately 12 balls

Ingredients

• ½ cup pitted Medjool dates (soaked and drained)
• ½ cup rolled oats
• ½ cup raw almonds
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch salt
• ¼ cup raisins
• 2 tsp coconut oil (melted)

Directions

1. In a food processor, grind the oats and almonds (be careful not to overprocess).
2. Next, add the dates, cinnamon, and salt, processing until a sticky dough begins to form.
3. If your dough is too crumbly (as mine was), add the coconut oil and process a few more seconds.
4. Add the raisins, and pulse gently until the raisins are evenly distributed.
5. Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls and allow to firm in the refrigerator or freezer.

Store in the refrigerator; cookie bites can be eaten straight from the fridge, but I enjoy them better at room temperature.