Vegan Date Balls (inspired by LARABAR)

Date Balls - my version of dessert!

I love the simple ingredients in a LARABAR and wanted to make my own for hiking trips (and just to eat around the house when I'm in the mood for dates).  LARABAR has a boatload of different flavors.  My adaptation is somewhere between a key lime pie and a cinnamon roll if I had to choose.  I tend to roll these up in balls rather than bars when not hiking so I have a smaller portion.

The Ingredients

The Ingredients:

• 2 dried Figs
• 4 Medjool Dates
• 1/2 oz Raisins
• 1/2 oz Cashews (I used raw)
• 1/2 tsp ground Cinnamon
• 2 tsp Lime Juice

Ready to Pulse to get to.....

The combined/processed ingredients

What to do:

1. Roughly cut up your dried figs in halves or quarters, pit your dates (which will leave you w/ halves) and throw in a food processor.
2. Dump your raisins and cashews into the processor.
3. Pulse on high until chopped into a course mass (will be somewhat dry).
4. Add the ground cinnamon and pulse until mixed.
5. Add the lime juice and pulse until a course sticky mass begins to form (will be much wetter w/ the addition of juice).
6. Roll into ~ 5 small balls or form 2 bigger rectangular bars.
7. Keep refrigerated until ready to eat.

The Date Balls in all of their glory!

My thoughts:
As stated above, you can do a multitude of things w/ these - mix it up!  You can add honey, stevia, or agave as a binder or switch out lime juice for lemon.  Depending on your date moisture, you may need much less lime juice (or no binder at all), as fresher dates have a higher moisture content.  I do not soak my dates before processing.  I like lime juice and these balls are a bit tart.  I would suggest adding only 1 tsp - taste - then add more to your liking if necessary.  I have even used chocolate and cayenne in these babies!  For hiking, I make bars out of these... easier to deal w/... and I wrap them in wax paper or parchment so they aren't sticking to everything.  Even though I refrigerate to keep them fresh... I've hiked for hours before eating one- its no biggie (although a little more gooey ;-)

Check out LARABAR (the inspiration for the recipe) at:

http://www.larabar.com/