Whenever you are in the mood for a chocolate treat, you need to try out these raw cacao date balls. They are so good! I like to make them when guests come over since they are always a hit. When I’m making these for myself, it’s when I feel like a chocolate fix and I don’t have a 100% bar of dark chocolate on hand. Cacao gives you feelings of love, energy, and happiness. It contains the chemical anandamide, which is the neurotransmitter responsible for these feel good feelings.
Cacao is a stimulant though, contains caffeine, and has the toxic theobromine in it. So it’s best to have cacao in moderation if you enjoy it. You might want to completely avoid it if you are in a healing process. I know for me it can be addictive so I limit my intake and treat it as a treat. I am not a girl that can have 3 chocolate bars in the freezer. Those babies would be eaten in no time. When I do eat or drink it however, I pick high quality products whenever possible.
From one chocolate lover to another, let’s get started!
INGREDIENTS FOR RAW CACAO DATE BALLS
12 date balls
- 1 1/2 cups of raw walnuts
- 1 cup of medjool dates
- 1/4 tsp of Himalayan salt
- 2 tsp cacao powder
- 1 tsp of organic coconut oil
- unsweetened organic shredded coconut flakes for rolling (optional)
HOW TO MAKE RAW CACAO DATE BALLS
- Add the walnuts to a food processor. Pulse for a few seconds to get the walnuts ground down a bit and then go full on to get them finely ground. This will take around 30 seconds. 1 1/2 cups of walnuts
- Add in your salt, coconut oil, cacao powder, and medjool dates to the food processor. Make sure to pit your medjool dates and remove the little ends prior to adding them to the food processor. 1 cup of medjool dates, 1/4 tsp Himalayan salt, 2 tsp cacao powder, 1 tsp of coconut oil
- Pulse the food processor a few times to get your dates broken down some and then turn on fully for around 20 seconds. You want the mixture to stick together when rolling in your hand, so you don’t want to process this too long. Check after the 20 seconds and see if the dates are broken down enough. You will probably need longer but it all depends on how soft the dates were when they went in.
- Take a tablespoon of mixture and roll into a ball between your two palms. (You will get about 12 balls).
- Roll the ball in a small bowl with shredded coconut flakes.
- Place the balls in a freezer safe container lined with wax or parchment paper. They will harden up and taste even better after 4 hours of being in the freezer. I prefer them after being in the freezer overnight. They harden up nicely and taste even better. You can store them in the freezer for up to two weeks, but let me know if they last more than a few days…
Riane’s Tidbits
You want to have your medjool dates kept at room temperature so they are soft enough to blend in the food processor. If they are harder or refrigerated, you can put them in warm water for about 15 minutes until they start to soften up. Drain the excess water well. You don’t want soggy dates, just softer dates.
Really measure the coconut oil. If you put too much in, the balls can get too oily. They will be still be fine once the balls freeze up though, so don’t panic if it happens.
Substitute the walnuts for almonds if you wish.
Add more raw cacao powder for a more chocolate tasting date ball. Remember cacao powder is going to be richer in flavor and you need less of it than regular cocoa powder. I would not do more than 4 tsp with the Wilderness Poets Cacao Powder. You could always do the 2 tsp, and then roll them in a little cacao powder in the end instead of the shredded coconut.
Raw cacao means it’s processed at lower temperatures and contains more nutrients than that of cocoa powder. It tastes more bitter than cocoa powder. I prefer the taste, but if you are new to raw cacao, this recipe with the sweet dates and coconut oil in it will still be plenty sweet to try it out with.
Let me know how you like them!
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Food Processor – my model 16 year old model was replaced with this
Cacao Powder
Organic Unsweetened Coconut Shreds
Grateful you are following along! xx Riane
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Raw Cacao Date Balls
Ingredients
Method
- Add the walnuts to a food processor. Pulse for a few seconds to get the walnuts ground down a bit and then go full on to get them finely ground. This will take around 30 seconds. 1 1/2 cups of walnuts
- Add in your salt, coconut oil, cacao powder, and medjool dates to the food processor. Make sure to pit your medjool dates and remove the little ends prior to adding them to the food processor. 1 cup of medjool dates, 1/4 tsp Himalayan salt, 2 tsp cacao powder, 1 tsp of coconut oil
- Pulse the food processor a few times to get your dates broken down some and then turn on fully for around 20 seconds. You want the mixture to stick together when rolling in your hand, so you don’t want to process this too long. Check after the 20 seconds and see if the dates are broken down enough. You will probably need longer but it all depends on how soft the dates were when they went in.
- Take a tablespoon of mixture and roll into a ball between your two palms. (You will get about 12 balls).
- Roll the ball in a small bowl with shredded coconut flakes.
- Place the balls in a freezer safe container lined with wax or parchment paper. They will harden up and taste even better after 4 hours of being in the freezer. I prefer them after being in the freezer overnight. They harden up nicely and taste even better. You can store them in the freezer for up to two weeks, but let me know if they last more than a few days…
Notes
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