So there was apparently a bit of interest in my vegan fruit balls at PAX Aus this year - Aeryn suggested I pop the recipe up here for future use. Only issue is I made it up as I went along so the measurements are…imprecise, to say the least! Most if it is ratio based but feel free to modify depending on how you want them to finish up.
Rough ingredient list:
1.25kg pitted dates
750g dried apricots (1/2 to 2/3 or date mass)
Coconut oil, melted (approx 1/3 - 1/2 cup)
Puffed quinoa
Puffed buckwheat
Puffed millet
Sesame seeds
Chia seeds (I use black for contrast)
Destroy the fruit - food processor will work far better than a stick blender! Basically I like something that’s not entirely mush, has a little big of definition but you don’t want it too chunky. Once all the fruit is chopped put it all in a large bowl.
Find a similar size bowl and pour in the dried grains until you have roughly the same volume ( or slightly less) than the fruit - remember, volume NOT weight!
Melt a little coconut oil and pour into the grains. Do it bit by bit, mixing it in as you may not need it all. You don’t want the grains to be ‘wet’, you just want to give them a bit of oil to help with the balling process. You can always add more!
Start intermixing the two bowls. Really smoosh it all together - this is one recipe where wearing gloves really assists in the process! Smash it, bash it, really mush it all about. When you’re happy with the ratio (there may be some grains that refuse to join in the fun) start balling them up and putting to the side.
When all the balls are finished, roll them in a mix of sesame and chia (or coconut or anything else that will help add a protective surface) and bag them up. There’s no reason you can’t make them fruit logs but I find that with them being such a sweet treat that having two reasonable size balls to a bag means you can eat one now and save one for later!
Addendum: Also, I’ve been informed by Dom that the Enforcer who gave crazy amounts for these during the con is also the person who donated the single largest amount for a treat. As such, I’m officially renaming them in his honour to ‘ThisCookie’ (no space in between); his suggestion as his forum name is ThisGuy. And also because I’m not allowed to officially call them Tasticles.
