MAPLE PECAN BITES
Here is one of Evelyn’s exclusive Energy Ball recipes - she doesn’t share these recipes very often, so you are in for a treat. They are perfectly sweet and chewy, and the baked pecan crunchy topping makes them feel that just little bit indulgent without the guilt!
Serves: 8
Time to create: 45 minutes (this includes 30 minutes in the fridge)
Ball ingredients
60g of pecans
120g of dates (weight with stones removed)
40g of oats
½ tsp of ground cinnamon
A pinch of ground nutmeg
½ tsp of vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
1 tbsp of maple syrup
½ tsp of coconut sugar (optional)
Topping ingredients
Dark chocolate melted (approximately 2 squares of Lindt 70% dark chocolate)
8 pecans
½ tbsp of maple syrup
½ tsp of ground cinnamon
Method
For the topping, brush each pecan in the maple syrup and sprinkle over the cinnamon. Place these pecans and the pecans for the balls on a lined baking tray (keeping them separate) in the centre a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees celsius for 6-8 minutes so that they start to brown (but not burn).
Leave the pecans to cool. Once cool put the pecans for the topping to one side and place the pecans for the balls into a blender. Add the remaining ball ingredients and blend for 1-2 minutes (depending on blender speed). You want to be able to pinch the mixture between two fingers and for it to hold together.
Roll the mixture into 8 evenly sized balls and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Place the pecans for the topping into a small bowl and using the end of a rolling pin crush the nuts into small pieces. Melt dark chocolate and drizzle over the balls and sprinkle with the crushed pecans.
TOP TIP: If you are using a smaller blender (e.g. Nutribullet or Ninja then blitz half the mixture at a time)
