No-Bake Granola Bites

This is my first "self-developed recipe" shared on here, which sounds fancy but is really just me changing things every time I make it until I'm happy with it. It originally came from a friend who had tweaked someone else's Oatmeal Cookie Bites recipe. However, I've changed it so much, I feel okay about sharing this version as my own now.

Our daughter wouldn't mind me sharing these more often, but truthfully, I keep them in the freezer as a snack for myself. If lunch is a little slim, I'll throw a couple on my plate, but more often than not, I snack on two in that weird gap between our early dinners and bedtime. I hope you like them too!

Ingredients:

• 1-1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats* (133g)
• 1/4 cup raisins (40g)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (40g)
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (35g)
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (30g)
• 2 Tbsp ground flax seed (14g)
• 1 Tbsp hemp hearts (10g)
• 1 Tbsp chia seeds (10g)
• hearty pinch of salt
• 160g peanut butter**
• 50g pure maple syrup**

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together very well then use a 1-1/2 Tbsp spring-loaded scoop to portion. I like to gently compress the mixture into the scoop to help it hold together, but don’t press too firmly or they freeze very hard. Alternately, you can use very lightly wetted hands to form balls.
2. Place bites on a parchment-lined tray or plate and freeze until solid before transferring to a freezer bag or airtight container.
3. To eat, let sit out for just a couple min to soften before enjoying.

Notes:

• *I've recently switched to organic gluten-free oats, but I’ve made this a lot with regular rolled oats too.
• If you aren’t using a scale for cooking/baking, I cannot recommend this highly enough. Not only does it improve accuracy by heaps, it also makes for way less dishes! Simple scales aren't expensive and work great - this is the one I have and love.
• **That being said, it’s hard to convert weights to other measurements so these are the best approximations I could get: 160g peanut butter is 1/2 cup plus 1-1/2 Tbsp; 50g maple syrup is a bit under 1/4 liquid cup measure.