Vegan No Bake Cacao Almond Butter "Cookies"

Today was a do-nothing, relaxing day which consisted of sleeping in, cooking warm banana cinnamon oatmeal for my friend, mom, and I, and basically just enjoying the beautiful snow day in my pajamas. Practice was cancelled tonight, so I had a lot of time on my hands this evening.
All of this snow really got me in the spirit of making something festive! The result, No Bake Cacao Almond “Cookies!" The best part? They are vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free!

NO BAKE CACAO ALMOND “COOKIES”

Yields: 10 “cookies”

Prep Time: 20-30 minutes

Freeze Time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

-4 medjool dates (pitted)
-1/4 cup raisins
-1/4 cup raw buckwheat groats
-2 tablespoons almond butter
-1 tablespoon raw cacao powder
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-1 ½ tablespoons almond milk
-You also need oat flour (process oats in a food processor until fine)

STEPS

1.)    Add dates, raisins, and almond butter into a food processor until fully combined.

2.)    Pour the ¼ cup of buckwheat groats into the mixture and continue processing.

 3.)    Leaving the food processor running, add in the cacao powder, vanilla, cinnamon, and almond milk until the ingredients form a sticky cookie dough ball.

 4.)    On a cutting board, or the counter, lay out a large piece of parchment paper and sprinkle your oat flour on the paper before placing your dough down.

        5.)    With your hands, roll the dough in the flour until it stops sticking to your hands, then begin to flatten the dough. Make sure you don’t make it too thin.

 6.)    Using cookie cutters, you should be able to get about 10 “cookies” out of this dough!

 If you happen to run out of oat flour like I did, cacao powder will work perfectly fine!

 7.) When all of your “cookies” have been cut out, transfer them with a spatula to a small cutting board or plate lined with parchment paper and cover with another sheet of parchment paper and freeze for 20 minutes.

8.) After the 20 minutes are up, feel free to place the “cookies” into a Tupperware or leave them on the plate.

Store in the freezer for up to one week and enjoy!