When cooler weather and Thanksgiving rolls around, my family starts to swear allegiance to pies.

Not just any old pies of course: pecan, apple, and pumpkin pies; the pies of the autumn season.

Some may favor the traditional crunchy and sweet pecan pie while others are diehard apple pie lovers. Some family members even try to win their way in with all three pies, stealing off a sliver of each on Thanksgiving.

Yet, my pie of choice has been the same since age 3. My loyalty has been, and always will be, to pumpkin pie.

Seriously. I’m a pumpkin pie fanatic.

That’s why I’m currently losing my mind over how delicious and amazing these pumpkin pie bites are. They’re all the flavors and textures of the pie I hold near and dear, but are in a perfect bite sized little package and filled with tons of goodness and nourishing ingredients instead of regular old pie things. We’re talking texture: identical, flavors: ridiculous, health factor: out of this world.

These pumpkin pie bites are made up of Vitamin A rich pumpkin puree, medjool dates for fiber and easily digestible natural sugars, pecans for beneficial monounsaturated fat benefits, hemp seeds for plant powered protein, and warming spices to bring out the flavors of pumpkin pie.

They’re so good I can’t even handle it. If you love pumpkin pie as much as I do, please feel free to quadruple this recipe.

Pumpkin Pie Bites

Makes about 20 balls

1 cup Mejdool dates
1 cup pecans
¼ cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
½ heaping cup shredded unsweetened coconut flakes
2 T hemp seeds
½ cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp cloves
1/8 tsp ground ginger
Pinch of sea salt

In a food processor, process dates, pecans, and pepitas until finely chopped, but not fully pulverized. You want to keep some texture in your bites. Add in the remainder of the ingredients and process 20-30 seconds to combine.

Use your hands to roll mixture into small balls. If you’d like you can roll pumpkin bites in chopped pecans or coconut, or sprinkle them with a dash of cinnamon.

Store in the refrigerator, where they’ll keep for about a week. Enjoy!