Chewy Brownie Balls

This recipe is inspired by Jennifer Cornbleet’s Learn Raw Food.com.  I’ve made a few adjustments based on what I had on hand.  You’ll love her web site, so be sure to check it out.

Ok, this is about as easy-peasy as it gets to satisfy your brownie cravings!!  Less than 10 minutes and your Brownie Balls are ready to eat.  Oh and they are oh-so-delicious!!

Makes:  20-30 Brownie Balls depending on how small you create them.

• 1 cups raw walnuts, unsoaked
• 1/2 cup raw cashews, unsoaked
• 8 pitted medjool dates, unsoaked
• 1/3 cup cocoa or carob powder ( (although not raw I love Cuisine Camino Organic Cocoa Powder, and it’s prepared locally in Ottawa!!))
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons water

Medjool Dates

Add nuts to food processor with S-blade and process until coarsely chopped.  Remove 1/4 cup (to be added later to provide texture to your Brownie Balls).  Continue to process nuts in food processor until finely ground.  Add medjool dates and process until creates a ball and sticks together.  Add cocoa and vanilla and pulse to blend well.  Add water, cranberries, 1/4 cup reserved nuts and pulse briefly until mixed.

That’s it!!  I find them very rich so I prefer a wee bite or two at a time so I created small Brownie Balls from the dough, makes about 30 balls.  You can also pack firmly into square pan, which would create about 16 brownies if you like a punch of cocoa in one serving.

I like to store in the freezer as this makes them more chewey, but you can also store in the fridge.  They will keep in the freezer for a few weeks …if they last that long :-O, or keep in the fridge for about a week. Store in sealed container.

Enjoy!!

Added a couple of days after the original post: Oh Oh… and then today I took a few (yes three) of the wee chewy brownie balls out of the freezer and added a wee dollop of raw almond butter on top…. oh my!!  Oh my, oh my!!  Yes, you got it!!  A keeper

P.S.  If you like these I bet you will also love my Cashew Cranberry Chews!!

Inspired by my Cashew Cranberry Chews and Cocoa Chews, I was just itchin’ to create a new snack that doesn’t include added oil – so I rummaged through the kitchen and found lots more to be inspired by!!

Cashew Orange Chews – Ready for the freezer!

• 2 cups raw cashews
• 2 cups medjool dates (approx 17-20)
• 1 cup dried apricots
• 2 oranges, rind & juice
• 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 2-1/2 cups oatmeal flakes
• 1/2 cup fresh cherries, cut into tiny squares (or use 1/2 cup dried cranberries – I didn’t have any so used cherries instead as I wanted to add flecks of red )

Blend cashews in food processor and process until like a find powder.  Add dates and apricots and process until well blended.  Add rind and juice from oranges, process until well blended (will be very wet).  Add pumpkin and sesame seeds and pulse 5-15 times to blend but keeping chunky.

Transfer to a large bowl, add oatmeal and cherries and blend well.

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread mixture evenly on cookie sheet, score into squares. Put in the freezer for a few hours to firm up a little and then transfer to dehydrator sheets.  You can skip the freezer step, but I find they are easier to handle if the squares are in the freezer first (as they are VERY gooey!).  Dehydrate at 105-115 degrees for 8-12 hours to desired chewiness/firmness.

Make about 50 squares.

All this talk about Cuisine Camino lately and it just made me think of the Cuisine Camino Cocoa Powder that I have in my cupboard.  So I thought “how about I make a chewy cocoa treat?”

And here it is… my creative endeavors for the day

I know they look like my Cashew Cranberry Chews, but it’s a different picture (no really!!).  Similar chewy texture but these Cocoa Chews have a yummy cocoa flavour!!

To keep the chewy texture it’s important to keep them in the freezer (out of sight, out of mind – yeahhh, not so much!!!).  The recipe makes about 40 squares!!  Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups raw cashews
  • Note: for nuts and seeds raw is always best (I also use organic), in their natural state and easiest to digest!  To make nuts even easier on the digestive system you may choose to soak the nuts and then dry then in a dehydrator before you grind them in the food processor
• 8 pitted medjool dates
• 8 dried apricot
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • Note: with any dried fruits like apricots and cranberries, etc. always try to use sulfite free, i.e. they will not have the original bright orange/red colour but will be a darker almost brown colour, I also use organic when possible
• 2 Tbsp Cuisine Camino Cocoa Powder (did I mention it’s a local company that produces this!! Love to support our locals!!)
• 1 Tbsp agave
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Instructions:   Add cashews to food processor and process until fine like a flour (I prefer a fine grind, but you can also make more chunky).  Add dates, apricots and cranberries and process further until well mixed (will be a little gooey but still somewhat flakey).  You may need to adjust the quantity of dates/apricots/cranberries depending on how fresh they are, I think I added a little extra today.  Add cocoa powder, oil and agave and process until nice and “gooey”.  Press into cookie sheet and put in freezer for an hour or two.  Once they have hardened a little cut into squares and store in freezer.  Enjoy!!

Cashew Cranberry Chews

I often have an urge for something with a chewy texture and a little sweet during the day.  With regular sweets, i.e. sweets made with flour, eggs, butter I feel too “heavy” and it just doesn’t agree with me.  Not to mention the fact that I get a bit of the “addictive” nature when I eat anything with flour.

The great news?  I have discovered that raw vegan “treats” fair well with my body PLUS I can pretty much pig out and still feel great with no major adverse effects as I get with wheat-based treats.

This recipe is my own creation.  What I love best is the chewy texture.  The recipe makes 50 squares!!  Keeps well in the freezer for several weeks for a handy snack at any time of day.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups raw cashews
• 1 cup raw sunflower seeds
• Note:  it’s always best to use raw nuts and seeds as much as possible, I also use organic most of the time
• 2 cups pitted dates (medjool are my favorite)
• 1 cup dried apricot
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• Note: with any dried fruits try to get sulfite free, i.e. they will not have the original bright orange colour but will be a darker almost brown colour, I also use organic when possible
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 1 Tbsp agave

Cashew Cranberry Chews

Instructions:   Add cashews & sunflower seeds to food processor and process until almost fine (I prefer a fine grind, but you can also make more chunky).  Add dates, apricots and cranberries and process further (you may need to do in batches) until well mixed.  You may need to adjust the quantity of dates/apricots depending on how fresh they are, I think I added a little extra today.  Add vanilla and agave and process until nice and “gooey”.

Press into cookie sheet and put in freezer for an hour.  Once they have hardened a little cut into squares and store in freezer.  They can be stored in the fridge but they are more chewy if stored in the freezer.  Enjoy!!

Another great recipe by Amber Shea (http://almostveganchef.com).

These are YUMMMY!!!  Check out her site for all the details on the raw Brazilian Energy Snack

Here’s the quick version with a few adjustments (I removed salt and used cranberries in place of cherries):

1 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup raw Brazilnuts
1/2 cup raw pecans
3 tablespoons carob powder
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Combine all ingredients (except cranberries) in a food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add the cranberries and pulse until well-incorporated but still slightly chunky.

Press the mixture into a parchment paper lined 8-inch square pan and freeze for at least one hour. When frozen, cut into desired shapes.  Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

It always helps to have something sweet to grab and when that “something” is raw vegan is makes it oh-so-healthy and even if you pig-out on these there is no reason for guilt.  Now that’s my kind of cookie

My recipe is inspired and adapted from the Raw Chocolate Almond Butter Cookie recipe  by Chef Amber Shea’s Almost Vegan.  Visit her blog and watch for her new cookbook Practically Raw coming soon.  She has some great recipes that you may enjoy.

I modified the recipe to use ground seeds as the “flour” instead of nut flours, and made a few other minor changes to match my taste and my availability of ingredients.

Ingredients:
1 cup RAW almond butter
1/4 cup coconut flakes
1 cup almond milk
2 Tbsp raw agave nectar
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed
1 Tbsp vanilla powder

Combine above wet ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth.

1 cup ground sunflower seeds
1 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 cup Camino Cocoa Powder or carob powder

I use a coffee grinder to grind seeds.  Add the ground seeds & carob to the wet mixture and combine thoroughly.  If the dough is too wet you may want to add more ground flax and/or sunflower.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and used teaspoons to create cookie-drops.  Put in freezer for at least  1 hour.  Once firm, transfer to container and store in freezer (or fridge if you prefer) where it will keep for several weeks.  A yummy treat.

Ok, so the fact that these are “raw vegan” may scare off a few, but these cookies are very very yummy.  Not only that, they are just about as healthy as a cookie can be so no guilt required when eating them .  With all the Christmas temptations I made a double batch and put them in the freezer so I have easy access to enjoy at anytime over the next few weeks.  They will also keep in the fridge about a week.

This recipe is thanks to Raw Food – A Complete Guide for Every Meal of the Day  by Erica Palmcrantz & Irmela Lilja.  Even if you are not a regular raw veganite, you will really enjoy this book and the many wonderful recipes.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup almonds
• 1/ 2 tablespoon almond oil or canola oil (I used olive oil as that’s all I had)
•  2 dates
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 Teaspoon ginger (ok, I know they are gingerbread cookies, but I had no ginger so I skipped this ingredient, probably not the preferred option but the cookies are still VERY yummy)
• 6 cloves, ground or 1 teaspoon ground cloves (I used ground cloves)
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon honey (I have a wonderful raw honey that I used, delicious!  And of course there are other options you can in place of the honey, i.e.  agave,  maple syrup or even use a couple of extra dates)

Instructions:

1. Mix the almonds to a flour-like consistency, using a food processor
2. Add the oil and dates, process some more.
3. Add the spices and salt and process again.  Taste to make sure the spices are evenly distributed throughout the mixture.
4. Add the honey and process until the mixture has consistency of gingerbread dough.
5. Spread or roll out the dough on a cutting board and use cookie cutters to create various shapes.  You can also roll the dough into balls like I did, it’s easy peasy!!