Chocolate Cinnamon Date Balls

A very good friend of my had a birthday this week and I wanted to give him a sweet treat. He’s been asking to try one of my raw desserts but until now I was unable to honor that request because I didn’t have my food processor. Now that I do, I thought his birthday was the perfect opportunity to do so. These healthy, sugar-free, raw Chocolate Cinnamon Date Balls were the answer.

They are super easy to make and are great to have in the fridge or freezer when you want a sweet treat. Best of all they have no sugar! Now I must admit that I don’t have raw cacao so I used regular cocoa powder this time so they weren’t fully raw. You can also substitute the cocoa with carob for a caffeine free version.

First you grind up raw almonds in your food processor. Then you add the rest of the ingredients, except the coconut, and process until well combined. I’ve used cinnamon and ginger and cardamom here but you can add other spices such as nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice or cayenne or forget about the spices all together. Remember this is YOUR recipe. Make it fit your tastes and what you have on hand.

The longest part of making these is rolling the balls. Don’t like coconut? Use chopped nuts or cocoa powder instead. They work without any coating too.

There are so many ways you can vary this recipe. Use walnuts or pecans instead of almonds. Add raisins or dried cherries to the dates. Add some peppermint extract. Let your imagination go wild!

Raw desserts are a great way to get started with raw food. They taste great and are so easy to make. These Chocolate Cinnamon Date Balls are so easy you can keep them on hand for when you are tempted to eat something you shouldn’t.

Have you made or eaten any raw desserts? What’s your favorite? Leave a comment and let me know or tell me how you vary these date balls to make your own special recipe.