Sticky dates, crunchy roasted almonds, plump raisins and chia seeds all come together to make these little chocolatey treats. Perfect for an after dinner indulgent treat or an afternoon ‘pick me up’.
This weeks recipe, was developed as I was wanting to re create a healthier version of a well known UK fruit and nut chocolate bar that I used to enjoy, but no longer eat since going vegan. This is by no means a copy of that chocolate, it’s more of a ‘inspiration recipe’. These chocolate fruit and nut balls are so simple to make and are a ‘healthier’ chocolate treat, although they certainly don’t “taste healthy”.
These Fruit and nut balls are;
- Loaded with fruit and crunchy nuts
- Studded with chia seeds for the ‘crunch factor’ as well as a good source of protein and healthy fats.
- Coated in dark chocolate to balance the sweetness of the dates
- Sprinkled with Cornish flaky sea salt – because sea salt and chocolate is a dream combination.
Tips & recipe notes:
The key to these chocolatey treats is to not over mix the mixture, this is why I have not used a food processor, which may be quicker, but you run the risk of over processing it and it loosing the chunky, nutty texture.
I have added a small amount of odourless coconut oil to the melted chocolate, to make it more of a silky and shiny mixture. You can opt out of using this, and they will still turn out just as nice.
Make sure you use roasted almonds! they add a lovely roasted nutty flavour which mixes so well with the sweetness of the dates and the dark chocolate.
Feel free to swap out the almonds for another nut of your choice, I used almonds as this is what was in the original chocolate I used to eat. Hazelnuts would work brilliantly, and I am planning on using hazelnuts in my next batch.
They will keep in a air-tight container for up to a month IF they last that long! (They don’t last much past a few days in our house with two boys around) Evidence below…..
