Looking for just the right bite size of something sweet? These Chocolate Almond Banana Balls are easy to make, satisfy your sweet tooth, are great treats for the kids, and are made with real ingredients that you never have to feel bad about eating. Pay attention to the ingredient cacao powder and cacao nibs in the recipe. Notice, that instead of processed cocoa powder, you’ll want to look for cacao. Using this unprocessed version of chocolate will add in 300 times more phytochemicals and four times more antioxidants. I also sub cacao and cacao nibs for cocoa powder or chocolate chips, because this provides protein, carotene, thiamin, riboflavin, magnesium, and calcium. The intense flavor of cacao is similar to a semi-sweet baking chocolate and works quite well in baking and raw desserts.
Cacao Almond Banana Bites
15 balls
Ingredients:
1 cup of almonds
1 banana
2 Medjool dates, soaked and pitted
1 T. of cacao powder
1/2 cup almond butter
pinch of sea salt
For the outside:
1/4 cup of almonds
1/4 cup of cacao nibs
pinch sea salt
Directions:
Start with the topping first. Add ¼ cup almonds, ¼ cup cacao nibs, and a pinch of sea salt to food processor and pulse until you have a fine mixture (which you will later roll the bites in). Remove this into a small bowl and set aside until ready to roll the bites.
Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Now, for the bites, add 1 cup of almonds into the food processor (no need to clean out from the topping) and pulse several times until they are finely ground. Add the rest of the ingredients for the bites into the blender and blend until you have a thick paste. Scrape down the sides and stir a few times.
When your mixture is blended through, form the bites by rolling about a tablespoon amount between the palms of your hands and then place them on a plate or a small baking sheet. Do this until all of the bites are formed and then place them in the freeze for 30-45 minutes.
Remove the bites from the freezer and roll them in the cacao nib and almond crunch mixture.
Place the crunch mixture onto a plate, then roll the bites around on the plate with the crunch mixture. Do this until they are all coated, then place them back in the freezer until you are ready to enjoy.
If you plan on storing them in the freezer for a longer than a day, transfer them to an air-tight container. They should keep for a couple of weeks in the freezer. You might want them to sit out for about 10 minutes before serving depending on how cold / firm you like them.
