Sweeeet Kira-line... oh oh oh

Okay Kira, this one is for you.


--------------

I never considered myself to be a SWEETS person. Okay maybe that's false. But I don't think I'd die if I went a week or two without chocolate or gummy bears. Though. I do love Swedish fish... but I digress...

In need of a dessert that wasn't banana ice cream... I was perusing good ol' New Seasons Market for something to hit the spot. I found Laughing Giraffe Goji Cacao And Maca Snakaroon, which have decidedly changed my life, clearly it doesn't take much these days.


But what is EXTRA AWESOME about these bad boys is that they are 1. vegan 2. raw 3. paleo 4. SO FREAKING EASY TO MAKE.

The downside: horrendously expensive. I think the Pope must have blessed the damn Goji berries to justify the 16 bucks a bag (8 treats per bag)

So I did some more perusing... this time on the internets. I found the Queen of Quinoa's recipe to be most fitted to what my pantry held.

I altered a variety of things because of my inability to follow directions that's how I roll.

Just a note: you have to really enjoy the taste of sunflower seeds for this particular recipe... I'll probably sub almonds next time. If you are less than inclined to try the seeds, just use any dust and pulse a little longer.... I also plan on making this a series of different raw dessert recipes... so this is the first of hopefully many!


Chocolate Coconut Sunflower Balls (hah)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup hulled, roasted sunflower seeds
• 1 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut plus 1/4 cup for topping.
• 8 medjool dates, soaked in warm water for five minutes
• 2 tablespoons almond butter
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
• water

Get yer food processors handy!

Okay. So. 

Throw those sunny seeds (or almonds) into the food processor and pulse 10-15 times until crumbly. Add 1 cup coconut and pulse 5 times to incorporate. Dump that mixture into a small bowl and set aside.

Drain the soaking dates (yeah did you forget to soak those? because I forgot to tell you? whoops. Go soak. five minutes). 

Place in food processor and pulse 10 times to chop. Add in the sunflower seed and coconut mixture and pulse 5 times. Add the almond butter and then press go on the processor and let it work like hell. 

Let it run for about a minute and a thick dough should start to form. 

Test the mixture for consistency. The dough should hold together when you pinch it (like cookie dough). If its too crumbly, add a teaspoon of water and let the processor run like hell again. I ended up having to use 2 tsps of water, but it depends on how oily your almond butter is. 

Once doughy consistency is reached, pulse in the chocolate chips until well combined. 

Roll dough into balls, slightly smaller than a golf ball. Coat them in the remaining 1/4 cup of coconut. Place uncovered in freezer for 35-40 minutes.

Enjoy!