Chickpea Energy Bites (vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, refined sugar-free)

 

Recipe from Nutrition by Michaela 

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Makes about 25 bites

These little treats are very simple to make and they taste quite good.  They’re fancy looking enough to serve at a party or to give as a little gift.  You will need a food processor to prepare these.  It also helps to have an ice cream scoop for forming uniform balls, but it’s not necessary.

1 cup fresh dates, pitted

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats

½ - ¾ cup shredded coconut

4 Tablespoons cocoa powder

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 pinches sea salt

3 Tablespoons (or more) brewed coffee

200 grams melted dark chocolate (I added 1 teaspoon coconut oil to the chocolate and used a double boiler for melting.)

Sea flakes, for decorating (optional)

Shredded coconut, for decorating (optional)

Soak the pitted dates in boiling hot water for at least 10 minutes. This will soften them up and make them easy to process.

Add the chickpeas, rolled oats, shredded coconut, raw cacao powder, brewed coffee, sea salt and cinnamon (optional) to a food processor.

Drain the water from the dates and rinse them a little bit in cold water.

Add the dates to the food processor.

Process all the ingredients into a dough. Scrape the sides of the processor bowl with a spatula to make sure all ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the dough.  If the dough doesn’t come together in a ball, add more coffee a tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together.

Place a piece of parchment paper on a plate or cutting board. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the dough onto the parchment lined platter. With damp hands, roll into balls and place them back onto the parchment paper. Let sit in the fridge for 15 minutes or more.

Meanwhile, melt the dark chocolate, preferably over a water bath (microwave is also fine). Dip the bites into the melted chocolate and place them back on the parchment paper. 

Optional: Sprinkle sea salt or shredded coconut on top before the chocolate hardens.

Place the bites back into the fridge until the chocolate hardens fully before serving.

Store in the fridge for up to 3-4 days, or for longer in the freezer (just make sure to take them out of the freezer to thaw to room temperature about 30 minutes or so before eating.)