Hello my little carrot cakes!

Thank you guys so much for all the positive feedback on yesterday’s

Carrot Cake Hummus!

As I was making another batch of it today (yeah, the last one only lasted about 2 days!), I thought about it for a minute and then decided…

Why not bake them?

Shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to you…not after my PB&J Hummus Ball shenanigans!

Carrot Cake Hummus Balls:
Inspired by Christin’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bean Balls

• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 1 cup carrots, chopped and steamed until tender
• 1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil, melted
• 1/8-1/4 cup maple syrup (depending on your sweet tooth)*
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 Tablespoons milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
• 1/4 cup flour (I used brown rice flour so they are also gluten-free!)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened (finely ground) coconut*
• 1/4 cup raisins**

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Add chickpeas, carrots, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and spices to a food processor and process until combined.
3. Add flour and milk to hummus mixture and pulse until all the flour is incorporated.
4. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl and stir in your raisins and coconut.
5. Form your balls with a cookie scoop, if you want, you can roll them around in your hands to smooth them out a bit before placing them on a foil lined baking sheet.
6. Place in the oven and allow to bake for 12 minutes. They will look about the same as they did when they went into the oven, but they’re little bottoms will be nice and brown!

*I used a finer ground coconut as opposed to the larger shredded variety I used in yesterday’s recipe just for fear that the coconut might burn in the oven. If you can’t find a finer ground coconut in the store, just throw whatever variety you have in your food processor and pulse it for a couple of seconds until it is a finely ground consistency (kind of like coarse sand).

**Or you could use chocolate/carob chips instead…Matt would be so proud!

Am I the only one who thinks bite-sized snacks are more fun to eat than regular sized ones?

Plus, I’m all about having the “portable” option!

And c’mon, look at ’em…they’re just sooooo cute! 😉

But seriously guys, I WISH you could have smelled the aroma that filled my kitchen while these babies were baking to perfection in the oven! There’s just something about the warm smell of cinnamon and spices coming from an oven that is just so comforting…

And of course, there’s nothing like having some “cookies” warm from the oven with a cold glass of [almond] milk!

Any exciting plans for this weekend?
I have a feeling this weekend is going to be a loungy weekend…and I’ve already gotten a good head start! I had the day off today and after running a few errands and making “cookies,” I actually took a nap (I never do that)! And it waaaaas glorious! 😉

What has been your favorite portable/on-the-go snack lately?
Since these haven’t actually made it outside my kitchen yet, I’m gonna go with my carrots and pretzels combo I’ve been loving on all week!