Dessert Raw Simple Sugar Free Vegan

Mar 10, 2011

Shilpa

9 Comments

  go nuts :: print me

Quick carob walnut raisin balls

This is a really quick and simple dessert item. It took less than 10 minutes to complete and was dangerously tasty. I picked this out of my first ever raw food recipe book. If I was going to start eating more raw foods then I was going to pick a book that excited me at the thought of starting this adventure! Ani Phyo’s Raw Food Desserts book did exactly that and these balls were inspired by the recipe for ‘Carob Walnut Cookies’ in her book. I fell in love immediately – it has the perfect sweet/salt mix to satisfy my cravings without throwing my healthy eating plan out the window.

Ingredients:
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup raw walnuts
1/4 cup raw carob powder
1 teaspoon mesquite powder (optional)
1/8 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt

Ani’s original recipe calls for a food processor, but as I do not have one I combined all the ingredients in a blender. After less than a couple of minutes of short bursts on the blender everything seemed sufficiently mixed up, crushed and in almost a sticky dough state. I emptied the mixture in a bowl and rolled small amounts of it into balls. It really reminded me of working in the kitchen as a kid with my mum and I started to feel rather nostalgic!

Recipe Tips:
I was not able not taste the walnuts as the other ingredients were so flavorful. Ani’s original recipe uses 3/4 cup, but if you like walnuts there’s no harm throwing some more in there. You could also try the recipe with any other nut that you like. You may prefer to use cacao powder instead of carob power. I’m sure the recipe would work just as well with this substitution.

Storage:
Store the balls in the fridge or freezer. If you store them in the freezer then you will need to thaw them for a few minutes before you eat them. I placed half in the fridge and half in the freezer. The freezer ones were firmer, but it wasn’t a huge difference to the ones that had been in the fridge. I did like the coolness of the ones from the freezer though. Supposedly they last for weeks in the fridge or freezer, but I couldn’t tell you for sure since they disappeared in my home within 24 hours

9 Comments

• 
  Sara Ouellette March 13, 2011 at 3:49 PM

  Great recipe! Love raw foods!

  Reply
• 
  Shilpa March 14, 2011 at 6:47 AM

  Me too I made another batch this weekend, but instead made small little bite-size balls – super cute and just as tasty!

  Reply
• 
  manal March 17, 2011 at 3:46 PM

  Yummy!

  Reply
  • 
    Shilpa March 17, 2011 at 6:13 PM

    Thanks Manal Glad you liked them!

    Reply
• 
  Priya Chauhan March 20, 2011 at 12:12 PM

  These were seriously tasty. I must admit I was creative with the recipe but they were delicious!
  Thanks!

  Reply
  • 
    Shilpa March 20, 2011 at 12:38 PM

    You’re welcome Priya – I’m glad you experimented with them and enjoyed them! I think Ani Phyo gave a great simple starting point and there is a lot of variations that can be done with this type of recipe. Can’t wait to read about what changes you made on your blog

    UPDATE: Check out Priya’s variation here

    Reply
• Chocolate banana bites « nuts4health June 25, 2011 at 7:39 PM

  [...] said that it was one of the best things I’ve ever made – he liked it even more than my quick carob walnut raisin balls. So, don’t take my word for it – experiment with it and let me know what you [...]

  Reply
• Celebrate living « nuts4health August 6, 2011 at 10:30 AM

  [...] :: Raw cookies – these are actually my raisin balls, but instead of rolling the mix into ball shapes I used my cookie cutters to make these. I just [...]

  Reply
• Gluten-free cookies « nuts4health December 16, 2011 at 7:34 PM

  [...] attempts) due to the ease of placing the cookie mixture on the parchment paper. I thought, after my carob walnut raisin balls that I might like the sweet/salt mix. However, it was way too salty for my liking (and also for my [...]

  Reply