horchata cookie cereal bites

Making cereal from scratch is fun! Here is my justification;

• Flavor them in anyway you want
• Spice it up however you want
• Shape it big, small or tiny
• Make cookie type cereal because then you can eat it with or without milk and then think of it as a breakfast cookie
• You can play with the grains or nuts to make the base of the cereal

I guess what I’m trying to say is, making your own cereal gives you freedom to create whatever you want. 

Horchata is one of my favorite ways to stay cool in summer. It’s a drink, I discovered after I moved to the United States and one that I will passionately drink whenever it gets hot. And now that Califia makes two different types of horchata, one with cinnamon and the other vanilla-coconut, I’ve been enjoying them often in the hot weather.
The horchata also goes very well with these cereal cookie-type bites. The bites are packed tightly with rice, oat and nut flour and sweetened lightly with molasses and brown sugar. Plus a dash of cinnamon for that extra sweet flavor to go with that soft crumbly nutty texture.

These bites are a great breakfast item when served in a bowl of chilled horchata but also make a good snack as is, especially if you’re on the go and short on time!  Just make a batch ahead of time and eat whenever needed (These guys are also gluten-free and vegan).

Here are some of my kitchen tips when preparing these horchata cookie cereal bites;

• Use freshly ground spices and fresh flour when making this cereal.
• The flavor will be fresh and it will also last much longer.
  I add cocoa powder here for a little color and to bump the cinnamon. Also, cocoa and horchata pair very well together, especially when this is served in a bowl with chilled horchata.
• Some of you might like the cereal cookie bites to be smaller than the sizes I made. If you do decide to make them tiny, adjust the oven cooking time accordingly. You can shape the bites into tinier balls using a pastry bag with a large round tip to get a uniform size or even more simply, with your hands. The texture of these bites is a little soft and cakey inside yet sweet and nutty.
• Califia makes two delicious varities of Horchata , an almond milk one and a coconut flavored one. Either works great in this recipe and even for serving the bites. Just serve the horchata chilled.

horchata cookie cereal bites

yields: about 4 to 6 servings

ingredients

1 cup (134g/4.73o) oat flour

1/2 cup (61g/2.15o) cashew flour 

1/4 cup (35g/ 1.23o) rice flour 

4 tablespoons brown sugar (dark or light)

1 1/2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon (pinch) baking soda

1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

3 tablespoons molasses (dark or light)

3 tablespoons coconut oil, warmed to liquid state

80mL Califia horchata + extra for serving

1. Place a wire rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350F. Line two baking sheets with a silicone mat and keep aside until ready.

2. In a large mixing bowl, place all the dry ingredients from the oat flour to the salt. Dry whisk to combine evenly. 

3. Add the molasses and coconut oil to the dry ingredients and stir with a silicone spatula. Now pour the horchata in a steady thin stream and using the spatula combine to form a ball of dough. Cover the bowl with cling film and allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

4. Grease your hands with a little extra coconut oil and shape the dough into either 0.5cm or 0.5 inch balls. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets leaving about 2 centimeters of space between them. Bake one sheet at a time for about 15 to 17 minutes. The cereal bites will be ready when they are dry both outside and inside and are light brown (the easiest way to test this is to take one cereal bite and break it to see if the inside is dry). Allow the cereal to cool to room temperature completely before storing them in an airtight container. They will last about 2 weeks if stored correctly in a cool and dark place. Serve the cereal bites with horchata milk. 

Note: This post is sponsored by Califia and all opinions stated here are purely my own.