I've yet to come across a person who doesn't like coconuts. I've always been a big fan of all its parts and forms. In addition to being absolutely delicious, it's also a good source of healthy fats and a variety of essential vitamins and mineral, such as B vitamins, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, iron, and calcium. So no wonder that coconut energy balls are the go-to desserts for those who are trying to stay healthy or are on a particular diet but occasionally have those sugar-craving emergencies. Here is another thrilling version of our favorite sweet snack that is raw, vegan, paleo, sugar-free, hassle-free, guilt-free, grain-free, and simply yummy.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sun-dried apricots (believe me, they're nothing like the regular dried apricots!)
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup raw hazelnuts
- 2 tsp of hemp protein powder (or 2 tsp of ground hemp seeds)
- 1 Tbsp of melted coconut oil
- 1 lime (for zest and juice)
- 1 pinch of pink Himalayan salt
Instructions:
- First, prepare the hazelnuts. Rinse the nuts really well and spread them on a tin with parchment paper, set your oven to no more than 150°C (~300°F) for 5-10 min. It's advisable to keep an eye on them and take them out whenever they seem ready. The skins should be very easy to remove. You can use mortar and pestle to crush them afterwards.
- Gently rinse the sun-dried apricots and put them in a blender or food processor.
- Add 2/3 cup of shredded coconut (put ~1/3 aside for later), 2 tablespoons of hemp protein powder (or ground hemp seeds) and a pinch of Himalayan salt into the blender or food processor.
- Grate the zest off of the lime and squeeze the juice, add the melted coconut oil, and then pour everything into the mixture and blend everything together.
- Add the crushed hazelnuts and blend together with the rest of the mixture. This way the hazelnuts will add some nice crunchiness to the coconut power balls. If the dough is too thick and doesn't stick, add some more lemon juice and/or coconut oil. If it's too runny, add some hemp powder or shredded coconuts.
- Take a tablespoon of the dough and roll it in your hands into a nice ball of your desired size. Then roll it in a small plate with shredded coconut to cover the whole surface. Repeat until there's no more dough. You should be left with around 20 coconut power balls, depending on their size, of course.
- Put the sweet goodies in the fridge to cool and harden a little bit. They'll be ready to be eaten in 15 min. If you want to keep them for longer (up to 10 days), I suggest you freeze them and thaw a few in the morning for the day.
You can make these energy balls with coconut even more exciting by adding some more spices like ground ginger, cardamon, cloves, or even black pepper – it's entirely up to you and your taste! You may want to taste the dough of my suggested recipe before rolling it into the balls and see how you like it.