Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2 cups hazelnuts, roasted or raw (instructions on how to roast them are below)
- 2 tbsp shredded coconut (optional, leave out if you want the texture to be smoother)
- 2 tbsp raw cacao powder
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla bean powder or 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 15 Medjool dates, pitted*
- 2 tbsp hazelnut butter
- toppings: raw cacao powder, cinnamon, or both mixed together, goji berries, hemp seeds, shredded coconut, cacao nibs
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 175C (350F).
- Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast for 10-15 minutes until slightly golden and the skin is easily removed.
- Remove as much of the skin as possible by rubbing the hazelnuts between two paper towels or your hands.
- Allow the nuts to cool completely before adding them to the food processor.
- Pulse them in a food processor a few times to until they're roughly chopped but not too fine.
- Add the shredded coconut, cacao, cinnamon, sea salt, and vanilla powder and pulse again just to combine.
- Add the dates and the hazelnut butter and blend until it forms a sticky dough. You might have to stir it a few times with a spoon to get it closer to the blades as it tends to stick to one side of the food processor.
- Take it out and roll about 1tsp of the dough at a time in the palm of your hand to form small balls.
- Roll them in toppings of choice (my favorite is a mix of cacao and cinnamon - 1 tsp cacao, 1/2 tsp cinnamon).
- Store them in an airtight container in the fridge or in the freezer.
Notes
if you only have the regular smaller dates, soak them prior to making this in hot water for 10-20 minutes to soften them up. You might have to use more than 15, but I only tried the recipe with Medjool dates so I don't know exactly how many. If you can get your hands on Medjool dates, use those because they're mushier and they blend better.