I was drawn to these sesame balls because they seriously resemble the Chinese dessert I used to grow up with, the deep-fried kind filled with lotus paste we had during Chinese New Year. This version is a lot cleaner, quite a bit denser and chewier because it is jam-packed with seeds and oatmeal. For folks who have nut allergies, they contain only seeds and are totally nut-free!
Ingredients: (20+ balls)
- 400g medjool dates (about 2 cups or 20 dates)
- 50g pumpkin seeds
- 50g sunflower seeds
- 100g rolled oats
- 4 teaspoonsvanilla powder
- 4 teaspoonstahini
- pinch of salt
- 60g sesame seeds
Method:
Mix everything in a food processor except sesame seeds until you have a sticky dough. Make about 20 balls and roll each one around sesame seeds until they are well coated. Keep in the fridge in an airtight jar.
If there are about 20 dates in the dough, each ball has about the sugar of 1 date. This is way too sweet for me even with the seeds and oats mixed in but most of my friends seem to be happy with the level of sweetness. Sugar is sugar.....you know what I mean? But this sure beats the white processed junk!
Who doesn't like chocolate , right? This is a winner with kids and practically everyone on this planet!
Ingredients: (20+ balls)
- 200g almonds (about 1 cup)
- 400g medjool dates (about 2 cups or 20 dates)
- 4 Tablespoons raw cacao powder
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons almond butter
- 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
Method:
Start by pulsing almonds in the food processor until they are crushed. Add dates and coconut oil and mix thoroughly. Add almond butter and cacao and mix till you have a dough. Roll about 20 balls. Store in the fridge in an airtight container or even the freezer for an hour or so if you prefer a firmer consistency.