balls + bars

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Gooood afternoon!

With my growing love for putting cocoa powder in everything, I have 2 cocoa infused recipes for you today!  One is a recipe I made a few weeks ago, that is tweaked and now, a tad more delicious.  The other is brand new! 

First we have the balls.  I tweaked this recipe with 2 new add-ins, and it’s even better than the original.

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The added ingredients were vanilla extract + unsweetened shredded coconut.  Ohhhh my, you must make these!  This is my favorite at-home “larabar” recipe yet!

Cocoa Coconut Energy Balls [makes 12-14 balls]

  • 1/2c raw walnuts
  • 3/4c raw almonds
  • ~10-12 medjool dates
  • 2T unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1T coconut oil
  • 2T unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 1t vanilla extract
  1. Process [in food processor, vita-mix, magic bullet, etc] nuts together, until crumbly with some larger pieces.  Be careful not to process to long.
  2. Empty into a bowl.
  3. Cut out pits in the dates by lightly slicing down the middle.  Remove pits with fingers.
  4. Process dates into small pieces, until very sticky.  [measures to ~1/2c lightly packed]
  5. Add nuts + dates back into food processor, along with cocoa powder, coconut oil, coconut + vanilla.
  6. Pulse until mixed together.  Do not over process! Scrape bowl once or twice. 
  7. When you can form a ball with the dough, it’s done! 
  8. Roll into balls or form into bars.  Wrap in saran wrap and store in the fridge.

*They should hold together very easily and firm up in the fridge.  If you’re having problems with them sticking, empty the contents out of your food processor and process 2 more dates.  Add everything back in and pulse a few more times.  If the mixture is too oily, empty the contents and process 3-4T more nuts.  Then add everything back in and pulse a few more times.

*The coconut oil is not crucial for this to work.  If you don’t want a coconut flavor, leave it out.  Do not sub in other oil. 

These are quite magical and you can’t taste the dates at all!

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This next recipe was a valentine’s day treat for Chris!  He loves peanut butter + dark chocolate but does not like Larabars.  He hates the date-taste that all of them have.  I completely masked that taste with this recipe!

When you process the mixture together, it will look a bit crumbly.

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If it holds together easily, you’re good to go!  If it’s too dry, empty the contents of the processor into a bowl.  Process 2 more dates until very sticky, add the mixture back in and pulse a few times until combined. 

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I pressed these into bar form by making 1 giant ball and then rolling out in between saran wrap.  I used a rolling pin + my hands, overtop of the saran, to get them into a large rectangular shape.  Then I cut them to a typical bar size.

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Cocoa Peanut Butter Energy Bars [makes 10-12 bars]

  • 1c dry roasted peanuts, unsalted [unroasted peanuts will have a much milder flavor]
  • ~10-12 medjool dates, pitted
  • 2T unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1T creamy peanut butter
  • 1t vanilla
  • 1/4t fine sea salt
  1. Process [in food processor, vita-mix, magic bullet, etc] nuts, until crumbly with some larger pieces.  Be careful not to process to long.
  2. Empty into a bowl.
  3. Cut out pits in the dates by lightly slicing down the middle.  Remove pits with fingers.
  4. Process dates into small pieces, until very sticky.  [measures to ~1/2c lightly packed]
  5. Add nuts + dates back into food processor, along with cocoa powder, peanut butter, salt + vanilla.
  6. Pulse until mixed together.  Do not over process! Scrape bowl once or twice. 
  7. When you can form a ball with the dough, it’s done! 
  8. Roll into balls or form into bars.  Wrap in saran wrap and store in the fridge.

*They should hold together very easily and firm up in the fridge.  If you’re having problems with them sticking, empty the contents out of your food processor and process 2 more dates.  Add everything back in and pulse a few more times.  If the mixture is too oily, empty the contents and process 3-4T more nuts.  Then add everything back in and pulse a few more times.

*This is a tutorial I did that shows how to form the the dough into bars.

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These have a great texture and are packed with peanut butter flavor.  The cocoa powder mellows out the sweetness from the dates.  These bars + balls are great for keeping you full, giving you a boost of energy and satisfying your chocolate cravings.

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Enjoy!

Ashley