Pecan Pie Energy Bites

This probably won't come as a shock, but I'm not an authority on vegan cooking. I know they only eat plant-based foods, and…well, that's actually all I know. But, despite my long history of not being a vegan, I've posted my fair share of what I'll call "accidentally vegan" recipe videos, which I didn't realize were vegan, until vegan viewers thanked me for thinking of them. You're welcome? So, for a change of pace, I'm posting these vegan pecan pie energy balls on purpose, sort of.  

I was actually researching vegan "chicken" recipes when I ran across these tasty treats, which as a long-time lover of all things pecan pie caught my interest. So, I switched horses mid-stream (not a real horse, but a plant-based faux horse), and started to play around with this recipe instead. I saw many different versions, with some using almond butter, and/or different types of sweeteners, and ratios, but after a few experiments, I settled on what you see here.  

By the way, all the examples I saw online for these were, "raw vegan," meaning there's no cooking allowed, but since I'm not constrained by such culinary restrictions, we decided to briefly toast the pecans and oats, which Michele thought would make them taste even closer to actual pie. Which, having tried them both ways, was the case. But, whether you make yours raw vegan, or just regular vegan, I really do hope you give these a try soon. Recipe is adapted from one by Mimi from the blog Daughter of Seitan.