Date & Nut Treats

I've tried a few raw ball recipes and they are either too soft and need to be stored frozen or too rustic and not very appealing.  I dinked around and merged some of the things I liked from a few different recipes and came up with this version that has no added sugar and can be modified quite easily depending what you have in the pantry.  I find these a little too nice, it's difficult to eat just one!

 What you need
1/2 cup of almonds
1/2 cup of cashews
dash nutmeg (about 1/8 to 1/4 of a tsp)
dash ground cardamon
1/2 cup pitted dates
1 Tbsp hazelnut oil (you could use any nut oil or flax or coconut)
1/2 cup chocolate chips

How you make them

• Put the nuts, nutmeg and cardamon into a food processor and mix until they resemble really coarse sand.
• Add the dates and oil and pulse until they are mixed in well - see photo 
• Finally add the choc chips and pulse just to mix through
• Take rounded dessertspoon scoops and form into a ball in the palm of your hand; the ingredients should be crumbly, but hold it's form when pressed together
• Put the balls onto a tray or into small cake cups (I had some so I used them, but they are not a total requirement)
• Put formed balls into the fridge to set for about an hour

The mix should make enough for about 20 balls that will last a couple of weeks if stored in a cool dry place (tub/tin).  I once calculated the  nutritional value of them and I think they are about 60 calories each (if split into 20) have about 5 grams of carbohydrate and 1 gram of fiber. 

Substitutions

• You could probably substitute the cashews for macadamias or even walnuts 
• I bet figs would work as well as dates - I have some dried apricots and I'm sure they would be good too but may need more pulsing than dates (pulse separately if you try it)
• Cardamom could be replaced with cinnamon or even a pumpkin spice blend
• For a healthier option you could use cacao nibs in place of choc chips 

[raw vegan  gluten-free dairy-free soy-free wheat-free]