Cacao Power Bites

Can I really describe the wonderful aroma that filled my kitchen while I was making these power balls? Melted cacao butter, coconut, the sweet aroma of dates blended with vanilla ……. words can’t do it justice! These little guys don’t just taste heavenly, they are also healthy and loaded with antioxidants, fiber, minerals, and vitamins. No added sugar of course! Enjoy the process of making them and the result! You will lick your fingers!

Ingredients:

• 8.8 oz (250 g) dried Medjool dates, pitted
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp Celtic sea salt
• 2 oz ( scant 60 g) cacao butter, melted in double boiler or water bath
• 1 1/4 cup (100 g) unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 tsp maca powder
• 1/3 cup (40 g) cacao nibs
• more unsweetened shredded coconut to roll the balls in

Preparation:

Melt the cacao butter. Make sure the dates are all pitted. Put them into your blender or food processor and pulse until the dates are almost pureed. Don’t process them at high speed. If you can still see small pieces, that’s fine. All the big chunks should be gone though. Scrape the date puree into a medium size bowl and add vanilla extract, salt, melted cacao butter, the 1 1/4 cup shredded coconut, maca powder and cacao nibs. Now comes the fun part. You can either use your hands to combine everything (that’s what I did) or, if you don’t like sticky fingers, attach the kneading hook to your hand- or stand mixer and keep your hands clean … for now. Put the dough into the fridge for about 15 minutes. It will be easier to work with. Now use your hands to mold little bite size balls, roll them in the reserved coconut shreds, and keep in the fridge until you need them.

Notes:

• I ended up with 30 little cacao power bites, but you can make them as small or big as you want. You could even roll the dough out with lots of coconut shreds on the bottom and top and cut them into squares.
• This is a healthy alternative for sugary snacks. Kids will love them too!
• As a little heavier variation, you could also dip them in melted dairy free chocolate instead of rolling them in coconut shreds.