After messing these up the first three times, I almost gave up.  But I’m not a quitter so I gave it one more shot and came up with these little treats.  And shockingly, they really do taste like little bites of pumpkin pie.

Or at least I think so.  Just tell me they do so I don’t feel bad about throwing away like 50 inedible bites. 

My main problem was I kept making cashew butter and then trying to mix it with melted cacao butter.  That just created an oily mess.  Like even the Vitamix couldn’t get these things to blend together.  I remember on my third batch just trying to squish everything together with my hands.

Yeah, Katie, the very expensive, high-powered blender couldn’t combine these things but your bare hands willing them to combine will do the trick. 

Finally, as a last-ditch effort, I just threw everything in the blender and hoped for the best but expected the worst.  And wouldn’t you know, that was the trick all along.  So what was the point of this story?  I did all the messy hard work so you could have little bites of pumpkin pie at your fingertips whenever you want.

You’re welcome.

Before you make these, here’s a pro-tip:  Double the batch and freeze half.  You’ll thank me later.

Pumpkin Pie Bites 

• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp molasses OR maple syrup
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup cacao butter, chopped
• 1 tbsp honey OR maple syrup
• optional coating: crushed almonds, coconut flakes, or pumpkin pie spice + cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and pour the cashews onto a baking sheet in an even layer.  Toast for about 10 minutes or until golden.  Keep an eye on the nuts during this because they can burn VERY quickly.  Remove from oven and place in your blender or food processor.  Add the pumpkin puree, sliced almonds, cinnamon, flax seed, sea salt, and molasses.
2. Place the cacao butter and maple syrup or honey in a heat resistant bowl and melt them in the microwave in 30-second increments until completely melted.  Pour this into the blender.
3. Blend on high until everything is combined.  You may have to stop and scrape down the sides a few times until everything is incorporated.
4. Place the dough into a large bowl and let it chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.  Once the dough is chilled, scoop out about 1 tablespoon and roll into a ball.  If you want to coat it in nuts/coconut flakes/pumpkin pie spice + cinnamon, place those in a small bowl and roll each ball around the bowl until fully coated.
5. Store these in the fridge for two weeks and longer in the freezer.