Raw Cookie Dough Energy Balls

If you make one new thing this week, let it be these balls of heaven…

I’ve been seeing raw, vegan cookie dough all over instagram and the interweb so decided to track down a recipe and give it a go myself. I found a great recipe via The Kitchn so converted it into grams from cups and added a few tweaks. Below is the end result and I can safely say it comes together like a dream, tastes amazing and is just as moreish as the real stuff. Plus its full of protein, fibre and has no refined sugar while still being sticky and sweet, making it the ideal nugget of goodness to have after working out or just a shitty day at work. These are going to be a staple in my kitchen from here on out so I hope you like them as much as I do…

I made them in my NutriBullet which worked amazingly but a Magimix or any good food processor would be ideal.

142g Cashew Nuts
45g Jumbo rolled oats
Pinch of Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon of Cinnamon
3 tablespoons of Maple Syrup (the purest you can buy)
1 generous dollop of good quality vanilla paste
dark chocolate chips
1 heaped desert spoon of Maca powder (optional)

Makes 12 (depending on the size of your balls!).

Blitz all the dry ingredients (oats, cashews, cinnamon, salt) in your food processor until they turn into a fine meal. Make sure not to over pulse – it needs to be dry and crumbly so stop as soon as it’s got to this point. Then add the maple syrup and vanilla paste and pulse again. It will be a super sticky,thick, grainy paste by the time you’re done. Turn the mixture out into a bowl, scraping every last bit you can from the blades and processor. Add the chocolate chips and mix in well.

Line a dish with parchment paper and using clean, floured hands, roll bitesize amounts of the mixture into balls and place on the dish. Tap off any excess flour from the outside – you just want enough to take the intense stickiness off from the outside of the balls.

I ate most of them straight away but store them in the fridge or an airtight container and eat them over a few days. Enjoy!