Last night I had a hankerin’ for something. Anything. I am a recovering popcorn addict so I had to think of something quick- before obsessive thoughts of freshly popped popcorn dripping with butter and sea salt got the best of me…

I rushed over to the kitchen and thankfully, was struck by freestyle snackin’ genius. I blobbed together a bit of peanut butter, shredded coconut, butter and honey. Voila! Disaster averted. Then I got to thinkin': ‘I should actually make something for my kids too…’

This is what I came up with. It got my hubby’s seal of approval when he taste-tested it at 11 pm (and then commented on the amount of dishes I just messed up).

Grain-free peanut butter treats

• 2 cups of crispy nuts (almonds, pecans, hazelnuts) *I used a mixture of what I had around.
• 1/2 c shredded coconut
• 1/2 butter (or coconut oil or combination)
• 6-7 dates finely chopped (you can also soak these)
• 3/4 c crunchy peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla bean powder (extract would be fine too)

Grind nuts in Vitamix or food processor then add other ingredients, First dry, then add wet. Spread either into a cake pan (to cut into squares later) or into small candy or cupcake type liners. Freeze. Take out as needed. I can imagine these might be a bit messy ‘on-the-go’ so you might want to keep them for an at-home snack. Great for kids or moms with popcorn cravings….

Enjoy.