These are the easiest chocolate energy bites you will ever make. You don’t need a food processor to make them, and they are no-bake, grain free, vegan, and paleo.
When it comes to my recipes, I am not really one to use superlatives like “the best” or “life-changing,” but I am confident that in this particular case, there is no exaggeration: these truly are the easiest energy bites you will ever create in your own kitchen.
I am that foodie who owns a food processor, whose life is not complete without a cherry pitter, and who asks for a Staub cocotte from Santa. That said, my food processor lives in the farthest corner of my kitchen cabinet. Further, it is a pain to:
haul out of said cabinet
wash (especially the lid, poorest design ever, wtf Cuisinart?!)
haul back into its hiding spot cabinet once it’s been used.
As soon as the idea to create a no-food-processor-required energy bite came to mind, I was very invested in making it happen.
What are energy bites
Energy bites are typically a mixture of nuts or nut butter, grains (like puffed millet, puffed or crispy rice, or oat flakes), a sweetener like dates, maple syrup, brown rice syrup or honey, sometimes seeds like flax or chia, and possibly other delicious inclusions like chocolate chips, cacao nibs, spices, or even chili powder for a little spicy kick. You might also find them called energy balls, or energy truffles, and Aussies call theirs bliss balls. I love that name, don’t you?
For this recipe, I decided to keep things as simple as possible, and eliminated the grains and seeds. I only kept the very basics: the nuts, the sweetener, and the flavour-carriers (cocoa, vanilla, salt). If there ever was a BASIC energy bite, then this is it.
Using almond meal
So yes, here’s the big secret: I am using almond meal so the nuts are pre-ground, and no dates, which means you don’t need a food processor to break down the ingredients and bring together the mixture. All you need is a bowl, a spoon, and a scale.
The almond meal I buy comes in a super large bag. I keep one large jar of it in my pantry, and store the rest in the freezer where it keeps fresh for longer, without going rancid. I love using almond flour in pancakes, crepes, waffles, muffins, sponge cakes and more. Can’t wait to share more of these recipes with you!
How to adapt this recipe to your taste
if you don’t like almonds, use hazelnut meal instead. You should be able to find hazelnut meal/flour in the gluten free baking section of larger supermarkets
many recipes use nut butter for the nut component – if you enjoy that toasty flavour, you can toast your almond meal in a 325 F oven, for 5-10 minutes, but watch it like a hawk, as it can go from toasty to burnt in seconds
dry sweeteners like maple sugar, or coconut sugar, don’t work in this recipe. If you don’t have maple syrup, use the same quantity of light agave
you can flavour these chocolate energy bites with spices or extracts: cinnamon and a bit of chili for Mexican chocolate vibes, or a drop of almond extract, or if you really love mint chocolate try a drop of mint extract. Always try flavouring only a bit of the mixture first. Taste it, then decide if you want to flavour the whole batch or not
other options for rolling the energy bites in: finely grated coconut, cocoa powder, freeze dried raspberry powder, other finely chopped nuts
3tbsp(20 g) Dutch-processed cocoa powder(I use Cacao Barry Extra Brute)
¼tspfine sea salt
¼cup(80 g) maple syrup
1tspvanilla paste or vanilla extract
Finely chopped roasted pecansfor rolling (optional, but recommended)
Instructions
In a medium bowl, measure the almond meal, then add the cocoa powder and salt, and mix well until homogenous. Add the maple syrup and vanilla paste or extract, then mix with a spoon or your hand until the mixture comes together. Be patient and don’t add any other liquids, the mixture will come together into clumps, like in the image above. When you squeeze it, it should easily stick together into a ball.
With a small spoon or your hands, form walnut-sized balls from the mixture. Roll them in the pecans, if desired, or in more of the almond meal – rolling them in the nuts prevents the outside from drying out. Store in the refrigerator, in an airtight box or jar, for up to 2 weeks.
Keyword chocolate energy balls, easiest chocolate energy bites, paleo energy balls, vegan energy bites
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