Fudge Babies

Boomette's Note:

These little fudge babies are addictive. They're raw. They're from the blog of Chocolate-Covered Katie. http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2009/10/13/make-these-now/

• Total Time: 10 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 15

Yield: 15.0 babies

• 1 cup walnuts (120 grams, I used pecans)
• 1 1/3 cups pitted dates (230 grams, If you want a sweeter result, up the proportion of dates)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 -4 tablespoons cocoa powder, depending on how chocolatey you want the balls to be (Katie used 4T extra dark)

Directions:

1. Chop/blend all the ingredients, using a food processor, Magic Bullet, etc.
2. Roll into cutey-pie little balls. (Use plastic wrap if you need to.).
3. I rolled these into balls, but if you want true brownies, simply shape the dough into bars instead.
4. **Update*** Version 2:.
5. Hot Cocoa Fudge Babies!
6. 30 grams cashews, 80 grams dates, 5 grams (1T) dark cocoa powder. Blend. Even fudgier than the original! :).
7. (Add mint and cacao nibs and you’re getting into Wild Bar territory. And if you leave out the cocoa, you have a homemade Cashew Cookie Larabar!).
8. * Add shaved coconut, mini chips, nuts, or raisins to the mix.
9. * Moisten truffles, then roll in cocoa powder, sugar, coconut, crushed nuts, etc.
10. * Add oils or extracts, such as mint or coconut.
11. * Sprinkle in some ground coffee for a java jolt.
12. * Extreme Chocoholic Version: Melt some chocolate and add it to the mix when you add the vanilla and cocoa.

Reviews

[Sydney Mike]

Absolutely wonderful, at least the 1st version is ~ I figured I couldn't go wrong with a combo like nuts & dates & chocolate! They definitely make for a great chocolate fix, & these "babies" will be made more than once again in my kitchen before the end of the year, & I look forward to adding some of them to my holiday gift bags! Thanks for posting the recipe! [Made & reviewed in Zaar Stars tag]

[Geniale Genie]

Delicious! I added some cardamom and frozen orange juice concentrate (for flavouring) and used Brazil nuts instead of walnuts; I also didn't bother measuring the ingredient, just eyeballed it, and they turned out great - though a little too sweet to my liking. Thanks for the recipe!!!

[swissms]

Very fudgy! I made using medjool dates so my mixture was a little drier than if I had used packaged dates with sugar added. But easily fixed by adding 2 teaspoons water. I used pecans and 4 T cocoa powder. The mixture smelled like brownies....yum! A nice healthy alternative. I made about 2 dozen balls (approx. 3/4-inch diameter). Made for Every Day is a Holiday tag.