`i have a super simple treat for you today!

Simple, sweet.... and quick to knock together in your kitchen in just 5 minutes.

It's a totally versatile recipe too and so I have purposely added lots of options in the ingredients... the main thing is that is smooshed up well in your food processor and contains the right amount of dates to make it sticky (add a teensy bit of water if you struggle to get it sticky enough!)

These could be made into a slab, sliced into squares and then dusted with cocoa but there is something fun and childlike about rolling small balls. You can just pop a couple on your mouth when sweet cravings arises, because they are dusted in cocoa they won't stick together either so are great in a little food bag to take on the road, or mix them up with nuts for a indulgent trail mix.

These balls are chocolate vanilla but just add other extracts if you want to change them up. The cocoa creates a great bitter sweet hit as well since the coating is not sweetened but gives a hint of rich chocolatelyness (yes that is a word ok!)

You know what i'm going to say now don't you... just be experimental and get creative in the kitchen! You can't go wrong with these little balls.

Recipe: Raw chocolate vanilla balls

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped dates
1 cup chopped nuts/seeds- try ground almonds, desiccated coconut, seeds, chopped nuts
approx. 3tbs cup cocoa or (raw cacao for extra nutrients)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or powder (other spices or extracts such as ginger, almond or lemon would be great too)

Method:

Blend dates until soft and sticky- if your dates are very hard or you have a less powerful processor, you may need to soak and drain them first (this may also mean you need a little more dried ingredients). Add the nuts/seeds plus spice/extract blend until well mixed and sticky.

Roll into tiny balls with you hands and then dust in cocoa or are cacao. Chill in the fridge until firm. Tis will last a png time in the fridge (multiple weeks- not that they'll last that long) or you can freeze them too and eat straight from the freezer if you like a hard chewy candy!

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