Happy Valentine’s Day! These Sea Salt + Dark Chocolate Quinoa Energy Balls are a perfect Valentine’s Day Treat while still being healthy! They have very little added sugar, but you would never know it! The only sugar is a tiny bit in the chocolate the balls are dipped in. If you wanted to avoid all sugar, they are great even with out the dark chocolate coating. I have made other versions of date-nut balls (See these German Chocolate Fudge Balls) and when I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it. I came across it on Simply Quinoa and made a few slight adjustments. You can see her original recipe here. What’s your favorite Valentine’s Day treat that is still on the healthy side?
Start by adding the dates to the food processor and pulsing for a few seconds. This part can be a bit challenging as the dates can get caught under the blades.
Once the dates are slightly broken up you can add the walnuts.
Pulse again until everything is mixed.
Next add the cocao powder, coconut, cinnamon, sea salt, and almond butter.
Pulse again until everything is evenly combined.
Add in the quinoa crispies and pulse slightly just enough to combine.
Gently roll into balls and place on a parchment lined tray.
Heat the chocolate bar over a double boiler. Once chocolate is melted, turn heat off. Drop one ball into the melted chocolate and roll around.
Using a fork, lift the ball and let excess chocolate drip off, then return to the parchment lined tray.
Sprinkle the tops with flaked sea salt. I couldn’t seem to find any flaked sea salt, so I just used my grinder on the coarsest setting. It didn’t give quite the same visual effect, but it still tasted great!
Sea Salt + Dark Chocolate Quinoa Energy Balls
(recipe slightly modified from Simply Quinoa)
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 15-20 balls
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups medjool dates, pitted (about 15)
- 1 cup walnuts (or pecans)
- 3 Tbsps cacao powder
- 1 Tbsp almond butter
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
- ¼ cup quinoa crispies (I made my own with this recipe)
- 1 (3 oz) bar of vegan dark chocolate
- Flaked sea salt to garnish
Instructions:
- Place dates in food procesor and pulse until somewhat broken apart. Add walnuts and process until ground and evenly distributed in the dates.
- Add in the cacao powder, almond butter, sea salt, cinnamon, and shredded coconut. It will be sticky and somewhat dough like.. Then, pulse in the quinoa crispies.
- Using your hands, roll the dough into balls, about the size of a golf ball and place on a parchment lined baking tray.
- Melt the chocolate bar over a double boiler. Once melted, gently drop each ball into the melted chocolate and roll around until evenly coated. Using a fork lift the ball and let excess chocolate drip off before returning to the baking sheet.. Sprinkle tops with sea salt flakes before chocolate hardens.
- Let chocolate balls cool in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes until chocolate has set, then serve.
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