Vegan Chocolate Dipped Fudge Balls

So, lets start out by talking about these little balls of heaven I whipped up tonight. Many bloggers, vegan chefs, and vegan wannabe chefs (such as myself) have been making raw treats like these for years. Some call them earth balls, fudge babies, more commonly a Larabar. The list goes on and on, but the basic recipe for this raw vegan treat are as follows: 1 cup of nuts to 1 cup of dates, and whatever mix ins you please.

Sounds simple right? Right! I've seen recipes that include everything from walnuts to hazelnuts, and goji berries to flax seeds and hemp seeds. These are all fantastic additions! I usually make my version of these babies with walnuts, almonds, ground flax meal, chia seeds, goji berries, oats (if they're for hubbies work), peanut butter, hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, honey . . . you name it, I've probably crammed it in there. One of my favorite ways to make them is using Kristen Suzanne's recipe for Hazelnut Chocolate Snowballs. The only thing I change about her recipe is using almonds instead of hazelnuts, and almond extract instead of hazelnut extract.

So right about now is when you should be saying, "okay this b!*ch is crazy, those look like candies!!" Let me assure you, that is an incorrect assumption. These are the kind of "candies" that will have you running to the bathroom throughout the day (unless you resort to wearing a diaper around). They are loaded with fiber from the dates and nuts, and whatever mix ins you choose.

Mmmmm, aren't they just delightful to stare at? Would you like me to shut up and give you the recipe now? Okay, but only because you asked so nicely =D

Raw* Vegan Chocolate Dipped Fudge Balls

• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup hazelnuts
• about 1 cup of dates, depends on how large/moist the ones you're using are (I use plump medjool dates, they are by far the best! I used about 12 for this batch?? sorry, not sure)
• 4 tablespoons of chocolate powder (I just used plain ol' Hershey's, but you can use the healthier raw stuff)
• 3 tablespoons smooth or chunky peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons ch ch ch chia seeds (love these!)
• drizzle of organic honey (optional)
  

for the chocolatey dipping sauce

• melted chocolate (I'm serious . . . get creative here and use what you like! I used 4 pieces (pieces, not whole bars) of Lindt Dark Chocolate. Haven't had it yet? It's really delicious, the chili is subtle not spicy, and adds a nice kick of flavor at the end of every bite. I lost track of parenthesis so I'll just end this with one).

First things first, get your food processor ready! I do not recommend using a Vitamix for this, because it gets turned into a dough WAY too fast and can shut off your machine. Plus it's a pain in the a$$ to scrape down. Add your nuts (haha) to the food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add in everything, except your dates! Pulse until combined. Next, one by one add your PITTED, emphasis on the pitted part, dates to the food processor. You'll want to check on it every few dates to see how the consistency is. You want it to be "dough like," aka sticky. Once your mixture is sticky enough to keep it's shape, begin rolling (another haha). This batch made 2 dozen balls, I used my cookie dropper to measure them out. Once the balls are ready, dip them one at a time into the chocolate mixture. You could get all crazy and dunk the whole thing in there but I think it's best to just do half. Seriously, I just ate 4 and I'm done, chocolate craving has officially been taken care of.


Chill in the fridge for 1/2 an hour, and you're ready to serve them =) I do recommend storing them in the fridge, and taking them out right before you're ready to serve them. You want the chocolate to stay firm like a truffle, and not have it melting all over your plate. The above pic is what they look like after they've been refrigerated, the chocolate coating is nice and firm.