Crack-Nutkers

My youngest son, Logan, was looking and the Christmas decorations in my mother-in-law's house and he said "Look! A crack-nutger!" as he pointed to a nut-cracker. It was really cute and very funny. So I have decided to name these tasty treats Crack-nutgers, coining his new word, since they involve nuts and it will always make me remember that moment when he was a sweet little two year old. These treats are so good you won't believe they're actually OK to eat! And they're super easy. Here's what you need:

• 5 C ground nuts and seeds you enjoy, preferably raw
(In my last batch I used walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and flax seeds. After grinding them I had a total of about 15 C of ground nut mixture)
• 2 T honey
• 3/4 C brown rice syrup
• shredded, unsweetened coconut

1. Put 5 C ground nut mixture into a large bowl. Pour honey and brown rice syrup over mixture and mix with your hands. Consistency should be that of cookie dough.
(depending on the nuts you use you may need more or less brown rice syrup)
2. Using your hands roll into ping-pong sized balls.
3. Roll balls in coconut.

I like these best after they've been refrigerated but you can eat them right away. I would refrigerate the leftovers though, if there are any.

This recipe is the basic recipe. You can add different dried fruit for different flavors. Experiment and make it your own. I used to add chocolate chips, but I am cutting back on sugar so I took them out. I was afraid I wouldn't like them without the chocolate, but I love them! My boys love them too and it's great being able to let them have a treat that I know is good for them. I almost feel like I'm tricking them!